Evaluation of In Vitro Antioxidant Activity and L-Asparaginase Enzyme Production of Four Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Acanthus Ilicifolius

Abstract

The need for novel and useful bioactive secondary metabolites to help and relieve people from all aspects of human conditions is constantly expanding. Every plant tissue has a variety of endophytic fungi, which are thought to be highly effective producers of natural products. In this work, the determination of total phenolics, antioxidants, and L-asparaginase enzyme activity in four fungal endophytes associated with the mangrove plant Acanthus ilicifolius was evaluated. The study indicated that total phenolic content (1633+8.7 µg equivalent to gallic acid) and reducing power (0.96) were the highest for methanolic extracts of the isolate Aspergillus terreus while scavenging activity was highest for the isolate Colletotrichum xishuangbannaense (78.2+4.5 %). The enzyme activity of L-asparaginase was expressed predominantly by all the isolates except Colletotrichum xishuangbannaense. Maximum enzyme activities of 50.1 U/mL, 48.1 U/mL, and 47.7 U/mL were observed in Aspergillus terreus, Colletotrichum cobbiƫense, and Fusarium multiceps respectively. The current research demonstrated that mangrove-associated fungi have a high potential for producing bioactive molecules and L-asparaginase, which can be used as a possible source for the creation of anticancer drugs.