Metabolite analysis of endophytic fungi from cultivars of Zingiber officinale Rosc. identifies myriad of bioactive compounds including tyrosol

Endophytic fungi associated with rhizomes of four cultivars of Zingiber officinale were identified by molecular and morphological methods and evaluated for their activity against soft rot pathogen Pythium myriotylum and clinical pathogens. The volatile bioactive metabolites produced by these isolates were identified by GC-MS analysis of the fungal crude extracts. Understanding of the metabolites produced by endophytes is also important in the context of raw consumption of ginger as medicine and spice. A total of fifteen isolates were identified from the four varieties studied. The various genera identified were Acremonium sp., Gliocladiopsis sp., Fusarium sp., Colletotrichum sp., Aspergillus sp., Phlebia sp., Earliella sp., and Pseudolagarobasidium sp. The endophytic community was unique to each variety, which could be due to the varying host genotype. Fungi from phylum Basidiomycota were identified for the first time from ginger. Seven isolates showed activity against Pythium, while only two showed antibacterial activity. The bioactive metabolites identified in the fungal crude extracts include tyrosol, benzene acetic acid, ergone, dehydromevalonic lactone, N-aminopyrrolidine, and many bioactive fatty acids and their derivatives which included linoleic acid, oleic acid, myristic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, palmitic acid methyl ester, and methyl linoleate. The presence of these varying bioactive endophytic fungi may be one of the reasons for the differences in the performance of the different ginger varieties.