Background: Endophytic fungi are known for diverse bioactive compounds with immense potential for agriculture and medicinal applications. Coniochaeta dendrobiicola isolated from the roots of Dedrobium longicornu was investigated for its antioxidant and metabolite composition. The present study compares the antioxidant properties, flavonoid and phenolic contents and metabolic profiles of broth and mycelium extracts. The broth and mycelium extracts were tested for their antioxidant potential using DPPH, while the total flavonoid and phenolic contents were measured using a UV–VIS spectrophotometer. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) revealed a markedly richer and more diverse metabolite profile of putatively annotated compounds in the broth extract compared with the mycelium fraction. The broth extract exhibited significantly higher antioxidant activity and flavonoid and phenolic contents, correlating with the presence of diverse bioactive compounds, including indole derivatives, flavonoids, phenolic acids, quinoline derivatives, and antifungal metabolites. Notably, several indole-related and phenolic compounds detected predominantly in the broth are known for antioxidant, antimicrobial, and plant growth-promoting properties. These findings indicate that C. dendrobiicola actively secretes biologically relevant secondary metabolites into the extracellular medium, highlighting its potential for agricultural and pharmaceutical applications.
Shah et al. (Thu,) studied this question.