Preliminary studies for a new antibiotic from the marine mollusk Melo melo (Lightfoot, 1786)

ObjectiveTo search for new bioactive compounds from marine mollusks Melo melo (M. melo).MethodsPreliminary work for bioactive compound was identified by using disc diffusion methods against human pathogens. Further analyses of compound were done by using TLC, SDS-PAGE. And also estimate the amount of protein in the samples by following Biuret method.ResultsIn antibacterial activity the maximum diameter of 24 mm zone of inhibition was recorded against Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) strain of the mucus extract and minimum zone of inhibition of 11 mm was observed in Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) strain of body tissue extract. The antifungal activity of the extraction shows maximum activity against Trichophyton mentagarophytes (T. mentagarophytes) (14 mm) and minimum activity was recorded in Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) (11 mm). The extract of mucus, nerve tissue, body tissue and kidney that showed antimicrobial activity was subjected to TLC to determine the presence of the peptides and amide groups, and also subjected to SDS-PAGE to estimate the molecular weight of proteins in a clear band were detected in the gel that represented kidney, body tissue, brain and mucus represent 14, 17, 22, 45 kDa.ConclusionsThe extracts from marine mollusks M. melo is the potential source of producing bioactive compounds against human pathogens and can be used for synthesis of new drugs.