Evaluation of antioxidant activity of endophytic fungi isolated from some native medicinal species of Golestan province

Medicinal plants are a very rich source of antioxidant compounds. Endophytic fungi of medicinal plants, due to long-term coexistence with these plants produce plant secondary metabolites. Therefore, in this study, the antioxidant properties of endophytic fungi isolated from 7 medicinal plants of the Asteraceae family includeing Matricaria chamomilla, Anthemis triumfetii, Anthemis parthenium, Anthemis altissima var. Altissima, Achillea millefolium, Achillea filipendulina, Cichorium intybus was investigated. The samplings were done from healthy plants and free of any diseases from most areas of Golestan province during 2016 spring. After morphological and molecular identification of endophytic fungi, the antioxidant property of 37 species of endophytic fungi was evaluated by DPPH free radicals metod. Based on the results, a significant difference of 99% was observed between the antioxidant properties of endophytic fungi. The lowest (32.1% ) and highest (98.8%) antioxidant activity were related to the Stemphylium amaranthi and Trametes versicolor  fungi isolated from Anthemis triumfetii leaf and Achillea santolina stem tissues, respectively. In addition, the Schizophyllum commune with 98.8% antioxidant activity was placed in the same group with T. versicolor. The Cladioporium spp. such as Cladosporium cladosporioides and Cladosporium ramotenelum showed a high antioxidant activity of about 97%. Considering short-term production and the high growth rate of fungi, endophytes maybe a good choice for the production of antioxidant substances.