ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI: AS A POOL OF SECONDARY METABOLITES

Endophytic fungi are the pool of secondary metabolites. Endophytes, microorganisms that reside in the tissues of living plants, are relatively unstudied as potential sources of novel natural products for exploitation in medicine, agriculture, and industry. Of the approximately 3,00,000 higher plant species that exist on the earth, each individual plant, of the billions that exist here, is host to one or more endophytes. There are many challenges in front of scientists for instance rise of new diseases, emergence of virus which are life threatening and management of complications occur after operation in patient with organ transplantation. This has led scientists to hunt for different natural sources that are safe and potent to meet the challenges of twenty first century. Endophytes possess different types of bioactivity, such as antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer and antifungal agents.