Anthill Inhibiting Bacteria, a Promising Source of Bio Efficacy

Abstract

The investigation into soil bacteria has been widely studied and becoming increasingly appreciated as an exceptional reservoir of unique naturally occurring biologically active metabolites with pharmaceutical applications. This article aimed to isolate, identify and biochemically characterize antibiotic-producing bacteria from anthill soils in the permanent site of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), Niger State, Nigeria. The sum of ten samples were collected from five sampling sites, the sampling was done in threefold (morning, noon and evening) and analyzed adopting standard microbiological protocols. The obtained result revealed that the total bacteria count in the morning ranges from 2.1×107 cfu/mL to 1.4×106 cfu/mL, noon count ranges from 3.1×107 to 2.6×106 cfu/mL while evening count was in the range of 2.1×107 cfu/mL to 1.7×106 cfu/mL. A total number of five (5) bacteria were isolated as Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus lentus and Micrococcus reseus. The total prevalence of the bacterial isolates in the morning, noon and evening were calculated as B. subtilis (109.08%), S. epidermidis (36.36%), M. reseus (36.36%), B. lentus (63.63%), and S. aureus (54.54%) respectively. These isolates were further assayed against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella sp. and Staphylococcus aureus. The antibacterial outcome showed that two (2) (40%) anthill isolates exhibited antibacterial activity against three (3) tested bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus). This research study has showcased that the production of inhibitory substances are common among some of the bacterial strains isolated from anthills.