Low-Molecular-Weight Secondary Metabolites from Fungi: <i>Cerrena unicolor</i> as a New Proposal of an Effective Preparation against <i>Rhabditis</i> Nematodes

Abstract

Plants and fungi are known as a valuable source of natural medicines used in the treatment of various diseases. Many of them are used to treat human and animal gastrointestinal diseases caused by parasites. The aim of this study was to investigate for the first time the antinematode properties of extracellular low-molecular subfractions (ex-LMS) obtained from the liquid growth medium of idiophasic Cerrena unicolor cultures. The fungal fractions were isolated according to a procedure previously described by Jaszek et al. The in vitro tests were performed using nematodes of the Rhabditis genus. As demonstrated by the results, the total fraction with a molecular weight C. unicolor may be a good new candidate for research on nematode infections.

Keywords

• fungi
• low-molecular-weight metabolites
• <i>Nematodes</i>
• antiparasitic properties