Antimicrobial Potential of Endophytic Fungi from Medicinal Plants of Tropical Islands in Andaman India
Abstract
Endophytic fungi are prolific producers of analogues putative phytochemicals which can be exploited for human therapeutic intervention and drug development. Mangroves of Andaman are still untapped for their potential fungi and its activities. The current investigation deals with screening of 19 endophytic isolates derived from different medicinal plants for their antimicrobial activity. The fungi with highest antimicrobial activity were characterized by phylogenetic analysis. Amongst, the tested endophytic fungal isolates, the ethyl acetate fraction of three endophytic isolates, referred as MG 4, MG 13 and MG 16 exhibited potential antibacterial activity against the test panel microorganisms. In in-vitro agar well diffusion assay, MG 16 exhibited highest antibacterial activity showing inhibition zone size ranging between 17-24.7 mm whereas isolates MG 4 and MG 13 exhibited inhibition zones ranging between 15.3 to 24.7 mm respectively. Furthermore, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of three endophytic fungi ranges between 1.9-62.5 µg/ml against the test panel of Gram positive and Gram negative microorganisms. Isolate MG 4 was showing 100 % sequence similarity with Sarocladium strictum whereas isolatesMG 13, MG 16 showed 99 % sequence similarity with F. falciforme and F. incarnatum respectively. Antimicrobial activity against a panel of microorganisms was better in Fusarium sp thereby concluding that Fusarium might be producing some bioactive pharmacophores.