Abstract
The medicinal plants Centella asiatica, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Guazuma ulmifolia, and Hydrocotyle verticillata are widely used in Indonesian traditional medicine, but little is known about their associated endophytic fungi. This research aimed to study the diversity of endophytic fungi derived from functional parts of these plants and to evaluate their potential as antifungal agents against the plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum. A total of 17 isolates of endophytic fungi were obtained: nine from leaves of G. ulmifolia, three each from leaves of C. asiatica and H. verticillata, and two from rhizomes of C. xanthorrhiza. The genus Colletotrichum was found in all plants studied, but each plant was associated with different species. Colletotrichum aeschynomenes was associated with C. xanthorrhiza, C. siamense was associated with C. asiatica, and C. tropicale was associated with G. ulmifolia and H. verticillata. The species Curvularia affinis, Diaporthe tectonae, Lasiodiplodia mahajangana, Parengyodontium album, Talaromyces trachyspermus, and Speiropsis pedatospora were found only in G. ulmifolia; while Didymella coffeae-arabicae and Muyocopron laterale were found only in H. verticillata. The endophytic fungi showed inhibition activity against F. oxysporum with inhibition values of 6.0-78.9%, T. trachyspermus JBd10 and C. affinis JBd14 gave the highest inhibition activity.
Highlights
The medicinal plants Centella asiatica L., Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb., Guazuma ulmifolia Lamk., and Hydrocotyle verticillata Thunb. are well known for their usage and medicinal properties
Colletotrichum aeschynomenes was associated with C. xanthorrhiza, C. siamense was associated with C. asiatica, and C. tropicale was associated with G. ulmifolia and H. verticillata
Nine isolates of endophytic fungi were obtained from G. ulmifolia leaves, three isolates were obtained each from the leaves of C. asiatica and H. verticillata, and two isolates from the rhizomes of C. xanthorrhiza
Summary
The medicinal plants Centella asiatica L. (asiatic pennywort), Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. (java turmeric), Guazuma ulmifolia Lamk. (bay cedar), and Hydrocotyle verticillata Thunb. (whorled pennywort) are well known for their usage and medicinal properties. (whorled pennywort) are well known for their usage and medicinal properties. The raw material for medicines can be obtained from different parts of a medicinal plant based on their various active ingredients. The dried sample can be obtained from a particular part of the medicinal plant such as the leaf, stem, rhizome, or root that contains a high concentration of the active. Endophytes are microorganisms that live within plant tissues for at least part of their life cycle without causing apparent disease. Fungi and bacteria are the most common microbes living as endophytes, but the most commonly isolated are fungi (Hardoim et al 2015). There are relatively few reports on the endophytic fungi associated with medicinal plants. Septiana et al (2017) successfully isolated eleven
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call