Antimicrobial Activity of Crude Extracts of Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Medicinal Plant Trichilia elegans A. Juss.

ABSTRACT

Endophytes are microorganisms which inhabit inside plants. These microorganisms are identified as being fungi or bacteria and can be useful for prospectionof bioactive compounds that may have medical and pharmaceutical applications.Trichilia elegans (Meliaceae) is a native tree in Brazil. Preparations using leaves, seeds, bark and roots and some members of the Trichilia genus are used in Brazilian popular medicine.The aim of the present work was to investigate biotechnological potential of fungal endophytes (Cordyceps memorabilis, Phomopsis longicolla, Dothideomycete sp. and one non-indentified) isolated from T. elegans, that have been assayed against five pathogenic bacteria. The fungi were incubated in Potato Dextrose and the secondary metabolites was extracted from fermentation medium with ethyl acetate, also was used directly extraction with methanolfrom mycelium. The extraction by ethyl acetate from C. memorabilis inhibited growing of Enterococus hirae, Micrococcus luteus and Escherichia coli. Fungal Phomopsis sp. inhibited M. luteus, E. hirae and Salmonella typhi, Dothideomycetes sp. and G8-25 inhibited M. luteus and E. hirae. Noextract by ethyl acetate inhibited Staphylococcus aureus and also no extract obtained by methanol inhibited the growing of tested bacteria. The present study helped justified the traditional use of T. elegans against human pathogenic bacteria.