Antimicrobial Potential of Secondary Metabolites Produced by Bacillus sp. and Their Gas Chromatography (GC)-Mass...

Aim This study aims to determine the biological activity and explore the antimicrobial compounds produced by a halophilic bacterium, as well as the hemolytic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of extracellular metabolites from Bacillus sp. Methodology The bacterial strain was obtained from the Department of Microbiology at Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, India, specifically from the bio-control and microbial product laboratory (BCMPL). The genotype and phenotype of the isolate were characterized while the cultures were maintained in a nutrient broth medium supplemented with 8% sodium chloride (NaCl). The secondary metabolites were extracted using ethyl acetate and concentrated through open evaporation techniques after nine days of growth in the culture medium. Biological compatibility studies were conducted concurrently with the screening of the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the secondary metabolites. The chemical composition of the crude metabolites was analyzed using the gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) technique. Results After phenotypic and genotypic analysis, the obtained potential halophilic bacterium from BCMPL was determined to be Bacillus sp. After the dark brown crude metabolites were extracted, the extracellular metabolites' antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Candida albicans (C. albicans) extracellular metabolites was moderately inhibited. Furthermore, the metabolites exhibited a moderate level of hemolytic and antioxidant activity. The GC-MS method depicted the presence of 12 distinct metabolites, each with a distinct retention time. Conclusion To sum up, the halophilic bacteria that were obtained and identified as Bacillus species and their crude metabolites demonstrated noteworthy antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Further investigation may be helpful in identifying possible compounds that Bacillus sp. produces.