EXPLORING THE ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIALS OF SPIDER SILK FROM PHOLCUS PHALANGIOIDES FUESSLIN, 1775 AND HIPPASA SP. SIMON, 1885

Abstract

As the efficacy of traditional antimicrobial therapies diminishes, the need for novel, safe, and effective antimicrobial agents has become increasingly urgent. An unconventional yet promising source of such agents is spider silk. Traditionally recognized for its remarkable mechanical attributes, including high tensile strength and elasticity, spider silk has recently garnered attention for its potential biomedical applications, particularly its intrinsic antimicrobial activity. This study investigated the antimicrobial potential of silk from two spider species: Pholcus phalangioides and Hippasa sp. Silk samples were collected, extracted using methanol and formic acid, and subsequently filtered. The resulting extracts were assessed for antimicrobial activity using both disc diffusion and well diffusion assays against a panel of pathogenic microorganisms, including Candida albicans, Circinotrichum sp., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The methanolic extract of P. phalangioides silk demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity (P< 0.05), with the most considerable effect observed against Circinotrichum sp. In contrast, the formic acid extract of Hippasa sp. displayed greater antimicrobial efficacy compared to its methanolic counterpart, with more substantial activity against bacterial strains than fungal pathogens. Notably, inhibition zones observed in the disc diffusion assays were generally larger than those measured in the well diffusion assays. These findings suggest that spider silk from P. phalangioides and Hippasa sp. harbors bioactive compounds, potentially antimicrobial peptides that exhibit significant inhibitory effects against pathogenic microbes. The results underscore the potential of spider silk as a novel reservoir for developing next-generation antimicrobial agents.