Isolation and purification of antibacterial metabolites from the micromycete Trichoderma asperellum Uz-A4

Abstract

Abstract The global rise in antibiotic resistance has increased the demand for new natural antibacterial agents derived from microorganisms. This study aimed to isolate and characterize antibacterial metabolites produced by the micromycete Trichoderma asperellum Uz-A4 The strain was cultivated under controlled conditions, and bioactive metabolites were extracted from the culture broth using ethyl acetate. The crude extract and purified fractions were evaluated for antibacterial and anticandidal activities against clinical test strains. Structural identification of the active metabolites was carried out through a combination of GC–MS, LC–MS, NMR, FTIR, and XRD analyses. Several bioactive compounds, including trimethoprim-like metabolite, palmitoleic acid, and D-mannitol, were identified, confirming the fungal origin of these clinically significant molecules. The results demonstrate that T. asperellum Uz-A4 is a promising source of pharmacologically relevant antibacterial metabolites with potential applications in drug discovery and microbial control.