The Biobrio 12(3&4), 2025

Isolation, identification and antibacterial screening of endophytic fungi obtained from the medicinal plant Tinospora cordifolia found in Ranchi District of Jharkhand

Rakhi Kumari Singh & Ishwari Prasad Gupta

ABSTRACT:

Many medicinal plants are being used by marginal communities for treatment of various ailments. However, the potential of various endophytes surviving within traditional medicinal plants remains an important area of study for scientists and researchers. The present study elucidates the diversity of endophytes within the medicinal plants and their role in plant growth promotion and pharmacological significance. Endophytes are microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, that inhabit intra- and intercellular plant tissues for all or part of their life cycle. Endophytic fungi are polyphyletic and ecological group of highly diverse fungi belonging mostly to ascomycetes and anamorphic fungi. It has been estimated approximately that more than one million different endophytic fungal strains inhabit about 300,000 various plant species. Endophytes are able to colonize internal plant tissues of healthy leaves, petioles, stems, twigs, fruit, flower, bark and without causing any apparent harm or pathogenicity to their host plants. Endophytes are symbiotically associated with their host plants. In many cases it is believed that microbes function as the biological defense for the plant against foreign phytopathogens. The protective mechanisms of endophytes are exerted directly by releasing metabolites to attack any antagonist or lysis of infected cells and indirectly by either promoting plant growth or by inducing host defense mechanism. The fungal endophyte produces invaluable bioactive metabolic compounds that are beneficial to humans with antibacterial, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti- inflammatory, antitumour properties etc. The major bioactive compounds include pestacin, taxol, ergoflavin, camptothecin, podophyllotoxin, isopestacin, benzopyran, phloroglucinal, tetrahydroxy-1-methylxanthone, borneol, salidroside, methyl peniphenone, lipopeptide, peniphenone etc. Despite being the aforementioned importance of metabolites produced by endophytic fungus, less than sufficient information is available on their pharmacological significance and exploration. We shall, therefore, elucidate in this research article, the fungal bioactive metabolites derived from medicinal plants and their significance.

Keywords:    

fungal endophytes, medicinal plants, antimicrobial, antifungal, pharmacological significance.

Full Text