Antibacterial activity of endophytic fungi extracts from the medicinal plant Kigelia africana.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum. P.O. Box 321, Postal Code 11115, Khartoum, Sudan

2 Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum. P.O. Box 321, Postal Code 11115, Khartoum, Sudan.

Abstract

The
aim of this study was to identify the endophytic fungi of the medicinal plant Kigelia
africana
(Lam) Benth. (Bignoniaceae) and to investigate their potential
antimicrobial activity. Seven species of endophytic fungi were successfully
isolated from K. Africana for the first time: including Cladosporium
sp.
, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus sp., Curvularia lunata as
well as three unknown species. The fungal extracts were assessed for antibacterial
activity against three standard pathogenic bacterial strains: Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Most
of the extracts showed in vitro inhibition of bacterial growth. Thephytochemical
screening revealed the existence of a diverse group of secondary metabolites in
the crude extracts of the endophytic fungi that resemble those in the host
plant extracts.

Keywords