Antioxidant Profiling of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from a Critically Endangered Endemic Medicinal Plant, Artemisia amygdalina Decne. of Kashmir Himalayas

Author: Humeera Nisa*, Azra N. Kamili*, Irshad A. Nawchoo** and Rubiya Dar*

Download PDF

Abstract

Micro-organisms living within a plant that causes asymptomatic infections entirely within the plant tissues are called as “endophytes.” These can be bacteria as well as fungi and can be isolated from different parts of plants. They have been observed to be saprophytic and are cultivable on agar. Medicinal plants had been used to isolate and characterize directly the bioactive metabolites. However, the discovery of fungal endophytes inside these plants with capacity to produce the same compounds shifted the focus of new drug sources from plants to fungi. This work is being conducted to test the hypothesis that endophytic fungi produce bioactive compounds which might have some pharmaceutical potential. This hypothesis is based on the rationale that endophytes are capable of protecting their host in adverse and diverse conditions by the production of many novel bioactive metabolites which can be a lead for the development of novel pharmaceutical agents against many diseases. When work

Keywords

Endophytic fungi, Kashmir, A. amygdalina.

Conclusion

The data produced in the present study has provided a valuable insight and firsthand information on the diversity of endophytic mycoflora of an important medicinal plant species belonging to the genus Artemisia of Kashmir valley, A. amygdalina which is a critically endangered endemic plant of this region. It was observed that the endophytic fungal isolates collected in this study provided a good source of bioactive compounds. As this study reveals that the endophytic fungi, A. alternata isolated from this host plant showed the presence of potent antioxidant compounds in its extracts. Thus, this fungal endophyte could be a potent source of bioactive compounds which can be a prolific source of many important drugs. However, further purification, characterization and structural elucidation is required to predict the accurate mass of these molecules with therapeutic applications. This study reinforced the assumption that endophytes could be a promising source of antioxidant substances. How

References

-

How to cite this article

Humeera Nisa, Azra N. Kamili, Irshad A. Nawchoo and Rubiya Dar (2018). Antioxidant Profiling of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from a Critically Endangered Endemic Medicinal Plant, Artemisia amygdalina Decne. of Kashmir Himalayas Biological Forum – An Int