Sustainable vinblastine production by , an endophytic fungus isolated from in the Northern Himalayan Region.

Vinblastine, a potent anticancer drug, is traditionally extracted from , but its low yield and high production costs necessitate alternative sources. In this study, twelve endophytic fungi were isolated from  collected in Himachal Pradesh, India. Among these, isolate VPF-2, identified as  through morphological and molecular analysis, demonstrated significant vinblastine production (8.673 mg/L) in M3 medium broth. PCR screening confirmed the presence of key biosynthetic genes, desacetoxyvindoline-4-hydroxylase (D4H) and tryptophan decarboxylase (TDC), in VPF-2. The fungal-derived vinblastine exhibited cytotoxic activity against MDCK cancer cells, with an IC value of 69.03 µg/mL. Structural characterization using HPTLC, UV, FTIR, LC-ESI-MS/MS, and NMR confirmed the compound's identity. This study reports the highest vinblastine yield from  to date, highlighting its potential as a sustainable and scalable alternative for industrial vinblastine production.