Bioprospecting of novel therapeutic agents from marine bacterium; Serratia marcescens

Abstract Bioprospecting is the searching of novel bioactive natural products from unexplored natural environment. The aim of the study was to isolate novel therapeutic agents from marine bacterium. The marine bacterium was identified as Serratia marcescens using molecular identification methods. The secondary metabolites were extracted and showed single spot on TLC at Rf of 0.74. The metabolite showed good antioxidant and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, pseudomonas sp, E. coli, Klebsiella sp, Salmonella paratyphi A. The antielastase activity was appreciable when compared to standard elastase inhibitor. The structural characterization of purified metabolite by GC-MS revealed 2,4-ditert butylphenol as major component.