Antimicrobial compound from Trichoderma harzianum, an endophytic fungus associated with ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Harwoko Harwoko (Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia)
Jungho Lee (Institute for Microbiology, Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet, Universitaetsstrasse 1, Düsseldorf)
Georgios Daletos (Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts)
Michael Feldbrügge (Institute for Microbiology, Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet, Universitaetsstrasse 1, Düsseldorf)
Rainer Kalscheuer (Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet, Universitaetsstrasse 1, Düsseldorf)
Peter Proksch (Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet, Universitaetsstrasse 1, Düsseldorf)

JKKI : Jurnal Kedokteran dan Kesehatan Indonesia
JKKI, Vol 12, No 2, (2021)

Background: Genus Trichoderma of fungal kingdom are largely used as biological control agents due to broad-spectrum activity against plant pathogens.Objective: This study aimed to investigate Trichoderma harzianum, an endophytic fungus obtained from ginger (Zingiber officinale) leaves.Methods: The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were deduced on the basis of UV, 1H NMR and MS data analyses, as well as comparison with literature.Results: Two known tetramic acid derivatives were isolated from this fungus, including harzianic acid (A) and isoharzianic acid (B). Compound B inhibited the growth of a corn pathogenic fungus, Ustilago maydis, with inhibition zone diameter (39 ± 0.33 mm) larger than nystatin (29 mm). Additionally, iso-HA (B) revealed antibacterial effect towards Staphylococcus aureus with MIC value of 25 µM. However, both compounds showed no cytotoxicity against human cervical and ovarian cancer cell lines.Conclusion: T. harzianum produced antimicrobial compound like iso-HA which has potential application either in agricultural or health.