The continuous search for secondary metabolites in microorganisms isolated from untapped reservoirs is an effective prospective approach to drug discovery. In this study, an in-depth analysis was conducted to investigate the diversity of culturable bacterial endophytes present in the medicinal plant A. absinthium, as well as the antibacterial and anticancer potential of their bioactive secondary metabolites. The endophytic bacteria recovered from A. absinthium, were characterized via the implementation of suitable biochemical and molecular analyses. Agar well diffusion and broth microdilution were used to screen antibacterial activity. SEM was performed to assess the impact of the extracted metabolite on MRSA strain cell morphology. Apoptosis and cytotoxicity assays were used to evaluate anticancer activity against MCF7 and A549. The FTIR, GC-MS were used to detect bioactive compounds in the active solvent fraction. Of the various endophytic bacteria studied, P. aeruginosa SD01 showed discernible activity against both bacterial pathogens and malignancies. The crude ethyl acetate extract of P. aeruginosa SD01 showed MICs of 32 and 128 µg/mL for S. aureus and MRSA, respectively. SEM examination demonstrated MRSA bacterial cell lysis, hole development, and intracellular leaking. This study revealed that the crude bioactive secondary metabolite SD01 has potent anticancer activity. In this study, 2-aminoacetophenone, 1,2-apyrazine-1,4-dione, phenazine and 2-phenyl-4-cyanopyridine were the major bioactive secondary metabolites. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the bacteria recovered from A. absinthium plants and in particular, P. aeruginosa SD01 is a remarkable source of untapped therapeutic, i.e., antimicrobial and anticancer compounds.
© 2023. The Author(s).