Antimicrobial and Phytochemical Screening of Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Spikes of Pinus roxburghii

A total seventeen endophytic fungi isolated from spikes of the Pinus roxburghii from Pauri, Garhwal region of Uttrakhand. Among seventeen endophytic fungi, only four distinct fungal morphotype were cultured to examine their antimicrobial properties and phytochemical analysis. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated for crude ethyl acetate extracts against pathogenic microorganism such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Candida albicans, Rhizoctonia solani, Cladosporium herbarum using an agar diffusion assay. The fungal crude extract did not show any activity against fungal pathogen such as R. solani, C. herbarum. A preliminary qualitative phytochemical analysis of fungal crude extracts revealed the presence of constituents such as flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, saponins, steroids, tannins, terpenoids in endophytic fungi. Secondary phytochemical screening was also conducted on the fungal extract using standard quantitative procedures that revealed the presence of phenols and flavonoids. In which crude extract of Penicillium frequentans showed maximum flavonoid and phenol content. Total phenolic and flavonoid content for P. frequentans was 288.34 (mg/g) and 17.48 (mg/g) respectively. This finding shows that Penicillium frequentans isolated from Pinus roxburghii could be an alternative source for producing antimicrobial agents. The generated data has provided the basis for its application in pharmaceutical industry in the form of traditional and folk medicine.

Author(s):

Akanksha Bhardwaj, Deeksha Sharma, Nitesh Jadon and Pavan Kumar Agrawal

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