A new antifungal antibiotic produced by Streptomyces galbus

A streptomycete producing an antibiotic having antifungal and antibacterial activity was isolated from a soil sample of West Bengal. It was characterized and identified as Streptomyces galbus. The antibiotic was isolated from the fermented broth by treatment with activated charcoal and purified by chromatography on alumina and paper. It is a colourless, odourless, hygroscopic, amorphous compound. Although homogeneous by paper and thin-layer chromatography, the possibility of the presence of two components was indicated by gel filtration. Its physico-chemical characteristics and UV-absorption spectrum suggest a non-polyenic nature. It is active against a wide variety of fungi and bacteria. It has some phytotoxic effect, but is relatively non-toxic to rats.