Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Properties of Fungal Endophytes from Garcinia Species

Objective: Fungal endophytes of medicinal plants occupy a unique habitat, highly diverse and are important sources of natural metabolites of pharmaceutical importance. Methods: The endophytes isolated from four species of Garcinia were subjected to fermentation in still culture and extracted using ethyl acetate. The crude extracts were screened for the biological activity through the assays such as antioxidant activity, 15-lipoxygenase/ human cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition, cytotoxicity, DNA nicking assay and antimicrobial activity. Results: Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium sp. were most promising amongst the endophytes screened from Garcinia spp. The HPLC and MS profiling of Aspergillus fumigatus anticipated the presence of the compound phloroglucinol, which could be involved in the biological activities of this extract. Conclusion: The results indicate that some of these endophytes isolated from Garcinia plants are a potential source for bioactives and could be further exploited to foster the identity of the novel molecule.