Isolation and Identification of Two Antibacterial Agents Produced by a Strain of Proteus Mirabilis Isolated from Larvae of the Screwworm (Cochliomyia Hominivorax) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract

Two bactericidal compounds produced by Proteus mirabilis isolated from screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae were purified and identified as phenylacetic acid and phenylacetaldehyde. The phenylacetic acid was identified by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance and by mass spectroscopy. The phenylacetaldehyde was isolated as the 2,4 dinitrophenylhydrazine derivative and identified using thin-layer chromatography and high-pressure liquid chromatography.