Now-a-days endophytic fungi serve as a source of antimicrobial compounds. In the present study a total of 21 endophytic fungi were isolated from Basella rubra L. a medicinal plant and screened for their antibacterial potential and for the presence phytochemical constituents. The results of the preliminary screening of antibacterial activity showed that out of 21 endophytic fungi Chaetomium indicum, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Curvularia lunata and Curvularia pallescens showed inhibition to all the test pathogens with a maximum zone of inhibition of 20 mm and a minimum of 11 mm. Likewise, crude ethyl acetate extract of these four endophytic fungi, the crude extracts of Chaetomium indicum offered 21, 21, 28 and 35 mm of inhibition zone against B. subtilis, E. coli, S. typhi and Staph. aureus, respectively followed by Curvularia lunata, Chaetomium indicum and Aspergillus flavus extracts. The zone of inhibition obtained in the secondary screening can be attributed to the antimicrobial potency of the antibiotic streptomycin used in the present study.
Antibacterial activity, Endophytic fungi, Basella rubra, Medicinal plant.
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