Fungal endophytes from the culinary herbs and their antioxidant activity

Endophytic microbes are often associated with the internal parts of plant tissues. Endophytic fungi were isolated from the surface sterilized root fragments of herbaceous culinary leafy vegetable and spices viz., Coriandrum sativum, Anetham graveolens, Spinacea oleracea and Trigonella foenum-graecum. 533 isolates were obtained from the plating of root fragments. Important fungi were identified as Myrothecium roridum, Chaetomium fumicola, Heterosporium alli, Fusarium oxysporum and Aspergillus tereus. The dominant endophyte documented was M. roridum (29.85%) from the roots of T. foenum-graecum, and was evaluated for the antioxidant activity. The fungus was inoculated onto potato dextrose broth (PDB) and cultivated for two weeks and mycelia was harvested and dried into fine powder. Both the endophyte and the host powder were extracted in water and methanol and the extracts tested for their total phenolic content and radical scavenging potentials. Results indicate that the water extracts of both host and endophyte showed good phenolic content (2.8 mg/g and 2.5 mg/g GAE) as well as radical scavenging ability (72% and 59%). Similarly, a decrease in the phenolic content and the scavenging potentials of endophyte with respect to its host were observed in the methanolic extracts. Results indicate the antioxidative potentials of fungi from herbaceous species.