Endophytic Fungi - An Untapped Source of Potential Antioxidants

Antioxidants are the substances that interact inside and outside of a biological system against the damaging effects of highly reactive free radicals produced during metabolism. Among various natural alternative sources of bioactive metabolites, endophytic fungi ave emerged as a significant reservoir of potent antioxidant compounds. These scantly explored micro-organisms are prolific producers of novel compounds and have the capability to produce metabolites that are exclusively isolated from Plantae. A wide array of compounds like nucleobases, polyketides, terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, xanthones, semiquinones, peptides, and phenolic acids have been identified as natural antioxidants produced by these micro-organisms.