Novel Exopolysaccharide from Marine Bacillus subtilis with Broad Potential Biological Activities: Insights into Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, Cytotoxicity, and Anti-Alzheimer Activity

Abstract

In the presented study, Bacillus subtilis strain AG4 isolated from marine was identified based on morphological, physiological, phylogenetic characteristics and an examination of 16S rRNA sequences. Novel exopolysaccharide (EPSR4) was extracted and isolated from the Bacillus subtilis strain as a major fraction of exopolysaccharide (EPS). The analysis of structural characterization indicated that EPSR4 is a β-glycosidic sulphated heteropolysaccharide (48.2%) with a molecular weight (Mw) of 1.48 × 104 g/mole and has no uronic acid. Analysis of monosaccharide content revealed that EPSR4 consists of glucose, rhamnose and arabinose monosaccharide in a molar ratio of 5:1:3, respectively. Morphological analysis revealed that EPSR4 possess a high crystallinity degree with a significant degree of porosity, and its aggregation and conformation in the lipid phase might have a significant impact on the bioactivity of EPSR4. The biological activity of EPSR4 was screened and evaluated by investigating its antioxidant, cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory, and anti-Alzheimer activities. The antioxidant activity results showed that EPSR4 has 97.6% scavenging activity toward DPPH free radicals at 1500 µg/mL, with an IC50 value of 300 µg/mL, and 64.8% at 1500 µg/mL toward hydrogen peroxide free radicals (IC50 = 1500 µg/mL, 30 min). Furthermore, EPSR4 exhibited considerable inhibitory activity towards the proliferation of T-24 (bladder carcinoma), A-549 (lung cancer) and HepG-2 (hepatocellular carcinoma) cancer cell lines with IC50 of 244 µg/mL, 148 µg/mL and 123 µg/mL, respectively. An evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity revealed that EPSR4 has potent lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory activity (IC50 of 54.3 µg/mL) and a considerable effect on membrane stabilization (IC50 = 112.2 ± 1.2 µg/mL), while it showed cyclooxygenase (COX2) inhibitory activity up to 125 µg/mL. Finally, EPSR4 showed considerable inhibitory activity towards acetylcholine esterase activity. Taken together, this study reveals that Bacillus subtilis strain AG4 could be considered as a potential natural source of novel EPS with potent biological activities that would be useful for the healthcare system.