In vitro assessment of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory potential of endophytic fungal metabolites extracts

Endophytes are endosymbiotic microorganisms that act as reservoir of novel bioactive secondary metabolites with antimicrobial, cytotoxic and anti-cancer activities. In the present study, the extracts of 26 different endophytic fungal strains were screened for their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. The results showed a wide variety of antimicrobial activities against 12 target microorganisms including three Gram (+) bacteria, three Gram (-) bacteria, 3 yeasts, 2 dermatophytic fungi and one keratinophilic fungus. Four fungal extracts (Aspergillus versicolor, A. awamori, A. niger and Penicillium funiculosum) displayed a broader antibacterial spectrum and inhibited the growth of all Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacterial species. The extracts of 8 endophytic fungi inhibited the growth of the two tested dermatophytic strains (Trichophyton mentagrophytes and T. rubrum). Only eight fungal extracts have an inhibition activity against the keratinophilic fungal strain (Chrysosporium tropicum). The anti-inflammatory assay showed that the extracts of Emericella nidulans, Pleospora tarda and Penicillium funiculosum had good activities in inhibition of protein denaturation reached to 83%, 82.5% and 81.4%, respectively. Also, Emericella nidulans and Pleo-spora tarda recorded the maximum inhibition effect on bovine serum albumin denaturation reached to 95% and 90.7%, respectively. On the other side, Emericella nidulans showed the maximum inhibition activity (69.5%) out of all tested endophytic strains against humun red blood cells membrane stabilization assay. In conclusion some secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi have a promising potential as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory compounds. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.839696