Metabolic Profiling and In Vitro Assessment of the Biological Activities of the Ethyl Acetate Extract of Penicillium chrysogenum "Endozoic of Cliona sp. Marine Sponge" from the Red Sea (Egypt)

Marine sponge-derived endozoic fungi have been gaining increasing importance as promising sources of numerous and unique bioactive compounds. This study investigates the phytochemical profile and biological activities of the ethyl acetate extract of derived from sp. sponge. Thirty-six compounds were tentatively identified from ethyl acetate extract along with the kojic acid (KA) isolation. The UPLC-ESI-MS/MS positive ionization mode was used to analyze and identify the extract constituents while 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy were used for kojic acid (KA) structure confirmation. The antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities were assessed in vitro. Both the extract and kojic acid showed potent antibacterial activity against and with MIC 250 ± 0.82 µg/mL. Interestingly, the extract showed strong antifungal activity against and with MIC 93.75 ± 0.55 and 19.53 ± 0.48 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, KA showed the same potency against and with MIC 39.06 ± 0.85 and 39.06 ± 0.98 µg/mL, respectively. Ultimately, KA showed strong antioxidant activity with IC 33.7 ± 0.8 µg/mL. Moreover, the extract and KA showed strong cytotoxic activity against colon carcinoma (with IC 22.6 ± 0.8 and 23.4 ± 1.4 µg/mL, respectively) and human larynx carcinoma (with equal IC 30.8 ± 1.3 and ± 2.1 µg/mL, respectively), respectively. The current study represents the first insights into the phytochemical profile and biological properties of ethyl acetate extract, which could be a promising source of valuable secondary metabolites with potent biological potentials.