ISOLATION AND PARTIAL PURIFICATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL COMPOUND IN THE MUCUS OF THE ZEBRA FISH DANIO RERIO

Abstract

Synthetics from nature have been a part of human progress. The fish mucus is a protective secretion from the epidermal membranes of the surface which provides the first line of defense against pathogenic microbes. In the present study, a series of solvents such as hexane, acetone and methanol were utilized for extraction using thin layer chromatography for the isolation and partial purification of the antibacterial compound in the mucus of the zebra fish (Danio rerio). Among all the three solvents, the hexane solvent extraction alone indicated a slight yellow colour compound with Rf value 0.46 cm. Furthermore, these active compounds were confirmed with the Bio-autographic method by using two bacterial pathogens viz., Staphylococcus aureus and E.coli and obtained positive results. Therefore, this method is very convenient for searching chemical constituents with their biological activity, such as antibiotics.