Diversity, Chemical Constituents and Biological Activities of Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi.

Paola Dos Santos Da Rocha,Edson Lucas Dos Santos,Kely De Picoli Souza,Leticia Miranda Estevinho,Vanessa Marina Branco Paula,Silvia Cristina Figueira Olinto

doi:10.3390/microorganisms8060859

Paola Dos Santos Da Rocha, Edson Lucas Dos Santos + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8060859

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Abstract

Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi is a medicinal plant widely used for the treatment of various diseases. The secondary metabolites responsible for the pharmacological properties can be produced directly by the plant or by endophytic fungi. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diversity of endophytic fungi of different parts of S. terebinthifolius and to identify chemical compounds produced by endophytes and their antioxidant and antibacterial activities. For this, fruits, stem bark and roots were dried, ground and placed in fungal growth medium. The selected endophytes were grown and subjected to extraction with ethyl acetate. DPPH, FRAP, β-carotene bleaching and antimicrobial assays were performed. The phylogenetic tree was elaborated, encompassing 15 different species. The fungal extracts showed hydroxybenzoic acids and 1-dodecanol as predominant compounds. All fungal extracts exhibited antioxidant activity. The fungal extracts exhibited bactericidal and bacteriostatic activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial ATCC strains and against methicillin-resistant nosocomial bacteria. Among the 10 endophytic fungi evaluated, the extract of the fungus Ochrocladosporium elatum showed higher phenolic content and exhibited higher antioxidant and antibacterial activities in all tests. Together, the results increase the known diversity of S. terebinthifolius endophytic fungi, secondary metabolites produced and their antioxidant and antibacterial activities.

Highlights

Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Anacardiaceae), commonly called Brazilian pepper tree and known in Brazil as the pink pepper, is a medicinal plant native to Brazil
This study aimed to identify the diversity of endophytic fungi present in fruits, stem bark and root of S. terebinthifolius as well as the chemical compounds and the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the extracts of these endophytes
The pulverized and sterilized material was inoculated into Petri plate containing solid medium, malt extract agar (MEA) with 10% tartaric acid or potato dextrose agar (PDA) with 10% tartaric acid or rose bengal medium

Summary

Introduction

Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Anacardiaceae), commonly called Brazilian pepper tree and known in Brazil as the pink pepper, is a medicinal plant native to Brazil. Bioprospecting of new natural products is a resource that has been widely used in science for medicinal purposes [3,4,5]. Endophytic fungi are organisms that colonize plant tissues and, in symbiosis, use the primary metabolites produced by plants for the production of secondary metabolites, which may exert protective, maintenance and growth functions in the host plant [6]. These products can be isolated and applied for various purposes. Plant endophytic fungi are sources of bioactive substances and are, targets for the detection of new compounds with pharmacological activities of interest, such as antioxidant and antibiotic activities [9,10]

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