Investigation of the Possible Antibacterial Effects of Corticioid Fungi Against Different Bacterial Species

Extracts from 58 species of corticioid fungi (phylum Basidiomycota), mainly belonging to the orders Hymenochaetales, Polyporales and Russulales, were tested for their inhibitory activity against five species of bacteria: <i>Corynebacterium striatum</i>, <i>Haemophilus influenzae</i>, <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>. Twenty-four of the species we analyzed in this study were tested for antibacterial activity for the first time. The fruiting bodies of the fungi were collected from dead wood in the forests of north-eastern Poland, and macerated in methanol. Dried extracts were redissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and applied to broth cultures of the bacteria, which were then inoculated on agar plates. <i>Noblesia crocea</i> demonstrated moderate inhibitory activity against all five tested bacteria; <i>Amylocorticium subincarnatum</i>, <i>Laxitextum bicolor</i>, <i>Peniophora laeta</i>, <i>P. rufomarginata</i>, <i>Phanerochaete sordida</i>, and <i>Xylobolus frustulatus</i> inhibited four bacterial species. The extracts from 14 fungal species tested were moderately active against only two bacteria, <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and <i>C. striatum</i>; 17 species were active against <i>C. striatum</i> only. The full inhibition was observed with concentrations of extract 25 or 50 mg/mL.