The genus Miliusa consists of about 60 species. So far, India has been home to twenty-three species and one variant of the genus. With 71 percent of the species being endemic, the genus is phytogeographically significant in the Western Ghats, making it more important from a conservation standpoint. These plants are utilized for their antibacterial, anticancer, anthelmintic, and antiparasitic properties, and also as pesticides. However, only a few species have been thoroughly investigated. The genus Miliusa includes a variety of secondary metabolites, according to a large body of evidence. Alkaloids, geranylated homogentisic acid, flavonoids, lignans, neolignans, terpenoids, acetogenins, styryls, lactones, phenolics, amides, alcohols, and furfural derivatives are some of the compounds found in these plants.
Endophytic fungi represent an important and quantifiable component of fungal biodiversity and affect plant community diversity.
The main objective of the current research was to study the biodiversity of endophytic fungi from the stem, leaves, and bark of Miliusa velutina var deviyarina.
Small parts of stems, leaves, and bark were crushed in order to expose endophytes and subculture them on potato dextrose agar and Sabouraud agar for one week at room temperature and further subculture them many times in order to obtain a pure culture.
Some dominant endophytic fungi like Aspergillus niger Tiegh., Colletotrichum siamense Prihast., and Diaporthe sp. were discovered by morphology and molecular identification.
Endophytic organisms isolated from this plant were found to secrete many useful enzymes, such as lipase, amylase, pectinase, asperginase, tannase, etc. Fungal colonies were grown on various media to check their enzymatic activity. This endophytic fungal biodiversity has the ability to produce natural and potentially bioactive compounds for different processes. These endophytic fungi have shown promising antimicrobial activity against certain groups of microorganisms, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
This research work highlights the significance of endophytic fungal biodiversity derived from medicinal plants as a source of innovative and bioactive chemicals.
