Antimycotic Potential of Bacterial Ethanolic Extract Isolated from Acid Soil of Mahishapat, Odisha

In view of the large tract of acid soil in India, an attempt was made in the present investigation to study the antimicrobial potential of bacterial flora from acid soil of Mahishapat, Dhenkanal, Odisha. Four bacteria isolated from the soil sample (pH 5.3 +/- 0.10) showed wide range of pH tolerance (pH 5.0 to 8.0) were maintained and selected for further study. After biochemical characterizations of the four isolates were identified as Gram positive rods viz., Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus brevis, Bacillus azotofermans and Bacillus licheniformis. Two of the isolates, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus azotofermans were found to have antimycotic activities against dermatophytes like on Candida albicans MTCC No.854 and Cryptococcus neoformans MTCC No. 1347 respectively. When the organism showed an inhibition zone of 22 mm and 17 mm while the ethanol extract showed 26 mm and 21 mm against the test pathogens respectively. It was larger than the medicines recommended by physicians.