Exploration of Endophytes from Azadirachta indica for Antifungal Activity

Abstract

Endophytes are the plant associated microbes that live within the living tissues of their host plants without causing any harm to them. Bioprospecting of endophytes from understudied ecosystems is a promising source for extracting novel antifungal metabolites useful for pharmaceutical/cosmetic purposes. The aim of present study was to explore endophytes for antifungal activity against Aspergillus species and Candida species. To achieve this, endophytes were isolated from Azadirachta indica leaves. Cross streak and agar overlay methods were followed for screening for antifungal activity. Secondary antifungal activity was carried out for positive antifungal isolates using agar well diffusion method. In present study, twenty four fungal endophytes and fourteen bacterial endophytes were isolated from leaves of Azadirachta indica by optimizing suitable surface sterilization protocol. Out of these six bacterial isolates were found to produce antifungal compound against Candida albicans and two isolates were found to be inhibitory towards Aspergillus species. In secondary antifungal assay, one bacterial isolate showed anticandida activity. The results of this study suggest that these endophytes producing antifungal compounds may have medicinal value. Further studies related to characterization and identification of these compounds may lead to the development of novel products beneficial to human kind.