Identification and Phytochemical Screening of Endophytic Fungi from Haustoria of Phragmanthera capitata (Sprengel) S. Balle (Loranthaceae)

Abstract

Loranthaceae are epiphytic hemiparasitic plants causing a lot of damage to cultivated or spontaneous woody species, but these parasitic plants are also used to treat a wide spectrum of diseases traditionally. It is with a view to searching for new sources of bioactive compounds that the present study was conducted with the aim of exploring the endophytic mycoflora of the haustoria of Phragmanthera capitata. The isolation of the endophytic fungi of P. capitata was done on a PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) medium. The identification was on the basis of macroscopic and microscopic observations using identification keys. The mass culture of the isolated fungi was made on a solid medium based on rice and the extraction with ethyl acetate. 20 endophytic fungi belonging to 7 genera and 2 unidentified species were isolated from P. capitata: Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aureobasidium, Mucor and Fusarium. Flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins and coumarins were detected in all extracts of these endophytic fungi. The endophytic fungi associated with this plant would also be a potential source of bioactive compounds and the exploration of medicinal plants, and habitats of endophytes would be an advantageous path for the discovery of new species of endophytes and new bioactive secondary metabolites.