Diversity of endophytic fungi from medicinal plant and their antimicrobial potential against selected human pathogens.

Endophytic fungi that inhabit medicinal plants are microbial resources renowned for having compounds analogous to those produced by their host plants. This study aimed to describe the diversity of endophytic fungi found in Kunth. To better understand the diversity of foliar endophytic fungi found in the leaves of the medicinal plant , we isolated and characterized endophytic by using both morphological and molecular methods employing ITS markers. The antimicrobial activity of endophytic fungi against common human pathogens and was also investigated. A Total of 16 endophytic fungi were successfully isolated from leaves and classified into five orders of Pezizomycotina based on the phylogenic analyses; (56%) (19%) (6%) (13%) and (6%). The antimicrobial activity of crude extracts from fungal endophyte against , and revealed that three isolates; were the most potent, while and displayed no growth inhibition property against the tested organism. The diversity indices were calculated by using the Shannon-Wiener, Margalef, and Simpson indices. The diversity indices analysis revealed an abundance of species diversity, where the dominant species were , and This study describes the diversity of endophytic fungi found in and emphasizes their potential as a source of novel bioactive compounds. More research on phytochemical composition and antimicrobial activity is ongoing to correlate the traditional uses and scientific findings.