In general, microbes produce a collection of secondary metabolites with therapeutic activities. Many are used as anticancer, immunosuppressive, hypocholesterolemic, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory agents, or as enzyme inhibitors. Indeed, endophytic fungi have become a treasure trove for bioactive compounds of medicinal and agricultural importance. Several endophytic fungi produce important therapeutic drugs, initially discovered in traditional medicinal plants; for example, paclitaxel, podophyllotoxin, Vinca alkaloids, camptothecin, and fusidic acid.
Secondary Metabolite | Representative Endophytic Fungi | References | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paclitaxel (anticancer chemotherapy drug) | Aspergillus candidus, Chaetomella raphigera, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Cladosporium oxysporum, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Penicillium aurantiogriseum, Periconia sp., Pestalotiopsis microspora, Pestalotiopsis versicolor, Phoma betae, Phomopsis sp., Phomopsis sp., Phomopsis sp., Phyllosticta citricarpa, Phyllosticta melochiae | [5][6][7][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] | [168,169,170,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205,206,207] | ||||||||
Camptothecin and analogs (anticancer chemotherapy drug) | Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Entrophospora infrequens, Trichoderma atroviride, Neurospora sp., Alternaria alstroemeriae, Alternaria burnsii, Alternaria sp., Alternaria alternata, Xylaria sp., Aspergillus sp., Aspergillus niger | [24][25][26][27][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] | [187,188,189,190,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,215] | ||||||||
Vinblastine and vincristine (anticancer chemotherapy drug) | Alternaria alternata | sp, | Fusarium oxysporum | , | Talaromyces radicus | , | Curvularia verruculosa | , | Botryosphaeria laricina | [14][15][16][53][54] | [177,178,179,216,217] |
Podophyllotoxin (anticancer chemotherapy) | Phialocephala fortinii (0.5 to 189 μg/L), Alternaria tenuissima, Mucor fragilis, Trametes hirsuta, Alternaria sp. Fusarium solani | [55][56][57][58][59][60] | [218,219,220,221,222,223] | ||||||||
Fusidic acid (antibiotic) | Acremonium pilosum | [32] | [195] |