AN EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL BIOACTIVE METABOLITES OF ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI ISOLATED FROM MEDICINAL PLANT

Nishanthi R., S. Uma Gowrie* and G. Chathurdevi

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants and their endophytes are potent resources for discovery of novel bioactive metabolites. Medicinal plants harbor endophytic mycoflora. The endophytic fungi from plants were an important source for the production of various secondary metabolites, bioactive compounds which are useful in pharmacology, agriculture and in industries. Endophytic fungi are a group of fungi that colonize living and internal tissues of plants without causing any immediate, over negative effects. In our present research work, endophytic fungi were isolated from the leaves of medicinal plant Pisonia grandis. The frequency of the presence of endophytic fungi was studied based on seasonal variation. Eight endophytic fungi were isolated, of which three isolates were sporulating and was identified based on colony morphology, sporulating structures and taken for further studies. The ethyl acetate extract of the isolates were screened for phytochemical studies and also assayed for invitro antibacterial activity. Further, the fungal isolates were checked for their ability to produce extracellular enzymes by qualitative assay. The isolates were also screened for extracellular biosynthesis of silver nano particles for which UV-VIS absorption was recorded. FT-IR analysis was also performed to confirm the presence of various functional groups.

Keywords: Medicinal plant, endophytic fungi, phytochemical, antibacterial, silver nano, FT-IR.