Fungi are considered a vital source of chemical entities possessing a wide range of biologicalpotentials. The aim of this work is investigating the fungal endophyte associated with Arenga pinnata and Arenga engleri to be isolated, purified, cultured, extracted with acetone & ethyl acetate, and the obtained extracts were investigated for their total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity. Based on the results two endophytic fungi (Stemphylium simmonsii and Aspergillus terreus) were selected for more indepth chemical profiling, radical scavenging and antimicrobial investigation. S. simmonsii and A. terreus culture ethyl acetate extracts were investigated for their antioxidant activity using DPPH assay for estimation of the diffusion inhibition zones and minimum inhibitory concentrations to assess their antimicrobial potential against S. aureus (Gram+ve), E. Coli (Gram-ve) and C. albicans (fungi). The chemical profile was conducted using LC-MS for tentative identification of the produced secondary metabolites. Fourteen and eighteen secondary metabolites were identified from S. simmonsii and A. terreus culture ethyl acetate extracts respectively. Anthracenes were the major metabolites of S. simmonsii whereas fatty acyls were the major metabolites of A. terreus culture ethyl acetate extract. S. simmonsii ethyl acetate extract was active against both Gram +ve and Gram -ve bacteria with inhibition zone 36 and 35 mm and MIC 4.88 and 4.85 µg/ml respectively. A. terreus ethyl acetate extract showed higher potential against Gram -ve bacteria with inhibition zone 33 mm and MIC 4.88 µg/ml. Further investigation and bio-guided fractionation are recommended to be carried out on both extracts to isolate the most active fractions and pure compounds for a better understanding of the results obtained.
Ahmed et al. (Sun,) studied this question.