Cinnabarinic acid from Trametes coccinea fruiting bodies exhibits antibacterial activity through inhibiting the biofilm formation.

Wild mushrooms are rich sources of natural compounds with potent bioactive properties. Several important metabolites have been reported from mushrooms, which possess clinically important bioactive properties like antibacterial, anticancer, antidiabetic, and neuroprotective activity. In this study, we have evaluated the antimicrobial activity of Trametes coccinea fruiting body extracts against different bacterial isolates, viz., Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, and Escherichia coli. Fruiting bodies of three T. coccinea samples, of which two were collected from Santipur, Arunachal Pradesh and one collected from Jorhat, Assam, were used for extraction using methanol. The extracts showed significant antimicrobial activity against all the test bacteria. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the extracts against Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, and Escherichia coli was recorded as 400 µg/ml, 400 µg/ml, and 300 µg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, the bioactive compounds of the extract were separated and detected using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). Presence of cinnabarinic acid (CBA)-a potent antimicrobial compound- was detected in TLC, which was further confirmed through High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS). Cinnabarinic acid was able to inhibit the formation of biofilms in Bacillus subtilis and B. cereus, suggesting that the compound can be beneficial in the management of biofilm-based antimicrobial resistance.