Identification of bioactive endophytic fungi from the leaves of selected Philippine plants

• Main Author: Jolito, Jerald G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2006
• Subjects: Endophytic fungi—Philippines; Plant-fungus relationships—Philippines; Biology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/7165
• Institution: De La Salle University

The aim of the present study was to isolate, identify and screen endophytic fungi from Philippine medicinal and non-medicinal plants for their antimicrobial activities. These fungi were isolated from surface sterilized leaves of plants specimen􀁭ns placed on water agar medium A total of 53 pure fungal isolates from ten (10) morphologically distinct groups were obtained from 21 of the 31 plant specimens. The fungi were cultivated in potato dextrose agar (P DA). Seven (7) of the ren (J 0) morphologically distinct groups were identified as Aspergillus sp. (black). Aspergillus sp. (green), Aspergillus sp. (white). Fusarium sp. Paecilomyces sp., Rhizopus sp., and Trichoderma sp., using the Malloch dichotomous and picture keys. Dual culture agar diffusion technique was -used to determine the antimicrobial activities of representative samples from each morphologically distinct group against Candida albicans ATCC No. 10231, Escherichia coli ATCC 1\·o. 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC No. 9027. and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC. no. 6538. The number of representative fungi -to which one or more test organisms was susceptible is 7 (70%). Of these, E. coli was susceptible to 4 (40%), C. albicans was susceptible to 2 (20%), P. aeruginosa was susceptible to 1 (10%) and S. aureus was susceptible to 1 (10%). Endophytic fungi. either from medicinal or non-medicinal plants, can be a potential source of novel antimicrobial antibiotics.