TITLE:
Isolation, Identification and Pharmacological Activities of Endophytic Fungi from Aponogeton undulatus Roxb.
AUTHORS:
Nargis Sultana Chowdhury, Farhana Farjana, Md. Hossain Sohrab
KEYWORDS:
Endophytic Fungi, Aponogeton undulatus, Fusarium solani, Antibacterial Activity, Cytotoxic Activity
JOURNAL NAME:
Pharmacology & Pharmacy,
Vol.11 No.12,
December
16,
2020
ABSTRACT: The objective of this study
is to isolate, identify and investigate the
pharmacological activities of the endophytic fungi from an aquatic plant Aponogeton undulatus Roxb. (A.
undulatus). Endophytic fungi were isolated and identified based
on morphological characters. The
molecular identification of the fungal isolates was performed using by
analyzing the DNA sequence based on mega BLAST program. Spectrums of
antibacterial and antifungal activities were
studied by Agar diffusion methods. Extracts of the endophytic fungal
strains isolated from the plant A. undulatus were screened for probable
cytotoxic activities using brine shrimp lethality
bioassay. Six endophytic fungi, namely AULE-1, AULE-2, AULE-3, AURE-1, AURE-3 and AURE-4 were isolated and purified from the leaves and roots of the plant such as strains AULE-1 as Trichooderma sp.,
AULE-2 as Carvularia sp. AULE-3 as Penicillium sp. strains AURE-1
and AURE-4 as Fusarium sp. and AURE-3 as Mucor sp. Strain AURE-4 was further identified as Fusarium solani. At 300 μg/disc concentration, six ethyl acetate extracts of endophytic
fungi of the plant A. undulates showed
moderate to significant activities against
most of the test bacteria and pathogenic fungi. The strain AURE-4
exhibited strong cytotoxic activities (10.18 μg/mL) compared to the standard
antitumor agent vincristine sulphate and this
positive result suggests that fungal extracts may contain antitumor or
pesticidal compounds. This is the first study to report the isolation,
identification, antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties of endophytic fungi of Aponogeton undulatus Roxb. in
Bangladesh.