Toxicity of secondary metabolites of Paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans

Abstract

In a previous study, Paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans was isolated and screened for antimicrobial activity. Many promising antibiotic candidates are not ultimately used because of toxicity. After screening secondary metabolites for antimicrobial activity, they were screened for cytotoxicity in vitro in the human HeLa cell line. The results show that there is no detectable cytotoxicity in HeLa cells.

Figure 1. Toxicity of Paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans secondary metabolites on HeLa cells

Relative fluorescence units (RFU) measured for the following samples: positive control (digitonin), solvent control (methanol), negative control (water), and three different concentrations of the secondary metabolite (10 µL, 20 µL, and 30 µL). The error bars represent standard error from the mean and the program used to calculate p values was Microsoft Excel using a t-test. The p values concerning the difference between digitonin and water was 6.92 x 10 ^-6 , digitonin and methanol was 3.61 x 10 ^-6 , digitonin and 10μl of metabolite was 3.34 x 10 ^-6 , digitonin and 20μl of metabolite was 7.60 x 10 ^-6 , and digitonin and 30μl of metabolite was 6.48 x 10 ^-6 .