Bioactivity of Mycoendophytes Isolated from Medicinal Plants Growing in Different Geographical Egyptian Habitats

Fifty-four endophytic fungal species were isolated from 10 medicinal plants growing on different geographical Egyptian habitats; 48 of them were morphologically identified, at least to genus level and all belonged to ascomycetes. Ethanolic extracts of 49 isolates were screened for their antibacterial activities against three Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria; they were also screened for their antifungal activities against Candida albicans and Fusarium solani. Twenty-six isolates showed antibacterial activities at least against one tested bacterial strain and seven isolates showed antibacterial activities against both Gram-negative and -positive bacteria. Moreover, cytotoxicity of these extracts were tested against one normal cell line MRC-5 and another cancer cell line MCF-7 using MTT assay. It was found that a group of seven isolates exerted a reduced toxicity towards the normal cell line, but had a higher toxic effect on the cancer cell line. These isolates represent a promising source for anticancer compounds with low cytotoxicity against the normal cell lines.