In vitro Antimicrobial Activities of Endophytic Fungi Isolates from Medicinal Tree - Melia azedarach L.

Endophytes, found ubiquitous in all plant species in the world, contribute to their host plants by producing plethora of substances that provide protection and ultimately survival value to the plant. Many researchers have proven that endophyte is a new and potential source of novel natural products for exploitation in modern medicine, agriculture and industry. So far, a great number of novel natural products possessing antimicrobial activities have been isolated from endophytes. These are endophytic microorganisms that inhabit the intercellular spaces of plant tissues and are often responsible for antimicrobial production. The aim of the present study was to screen for antimicrobial activity in two endophytic filamentous fungus Aspergillus flaves and Trichoderma koningii Oudem isolated from surface sterilized leaves and root of Melia azedarach L. and exhibited significant inhibitory activity on the test microorganism by using agar diffusion method. The strongest antimicrobial activity was exhibited by Aspergillus flavus against Staphylococcus aureus where as also in Trichoderma koningii Oudem, with 20.2 ± 0.6 and 18.05 ± 0.8 inhibition, respectively. The two endophytic fungi isolated from leaves and roots tissues of Melia azedarach L. as well as their antimicrobial activity detected in the crude fungal extracts cultures were being reported for the first time.