Biological activity of spores from eight fungal species isolated from building

Eight mould species isolated from building materials were used to determine their biological activity and cytotoxic potentials they may pose to humans. Aspergillus. parasiticus, A. ochraceus, A.versicolor, A. fumigatus, P. citrinum, Chaetomium, Phoma and Ulocladium were the mould species used on two human cell lines Hep-2 and Hfl-1. The influence of the extracts on the cellular methylthiazoltetrazolium (MTT)-cleavage activity was evaluated. The mutagenic effect of the fungal extracts was determined using the Muta-chromoPlate based on the reverse-mutation test using Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and TA98 as test strain. Aspergillus parasiticus, A. ochraceus, P. citrinum and Chaetomium showed a high cytotoxic effect on both cell lines with A. ochraceus having higher cytotoxic effect on both cell lines with an IC50 value of 2.48 and 1.25 using Hep-2 and Hfl-1 respectively. Chaetomium exhibited a high cytotoxic effect on both cell lines, though not much attention has being given to its presence in the indoor environment. This may pose a potential mycotoxic hazard to human. Extracts from A. parasiticus, A. ochraceus, A.versicolor and P. citrinum were also found to have mutagenic properties. Aspergillus fumigatus showed less mutagenic effect.