Investigating bioactive potential of the Serratia sp. CS01 and its pigment for anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial action

Microbial proteases and pigments contain biomolecular properties with considerable therapeutic and industrial applications. In the present investigation, a bacterial isolate named CS01 was taxonomically identified as Serratia sp., utilizing 16S rDNA sequencing. HPLC, MALDI-TOF analysis and SDS-PAGE (~ 60 kDa band) shows the presence of an anti-inflammatory protease. In addition, a red pigment was extracted from the isolate and identified as prodigiosin-like pigment, confirmed through UV–Vis spectrophotometry, FTIR, HPLC and HRMS analysis. The cell free supernatant showed Human red blood cell membrane stabilization of 79.3 ± 0.007%, while the pigment extract showed high stability of 95.33 ± 0.004%. The heat-induced haemolysis revealed 87.18 ± 0.003% of membrane protection for the cell free supernatant 95.57 ± 0.005% for pigment sample, showing comparable efficacy to that of diclofenac (94.37 ± 0.003%). The crude and pigment sample from CS01 also showed the ability to inhibit egg albumin denaturation with a range of 80.31 ± 0.01% and 85.6 ± 0.005%. In addition, Serratia sp. CS01 exhibited 55.93 ± 0.008% of antioxidant activity and its pigment showed 91.26 ± 0.28% at 1000 µg/mL. Antibacterial studies revealed the ability of the strain to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus. The MIC results for the pigment sample exhibited higher antibacterial efficacy in comparison to the crude extract, attaining inhibition rates nearing 90% within a concentration spectrum (10–150 µg/mL). Collectively, these results summarize that Serratia sp. CS01 simultaneously produces both anti-inflammatory protease and prodigiosin-like pigment having anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties. This highlights Serratia sp. CS01 as a promising microbial source of multifunctional biomolecules with prospective therapeutic and industrial applications.