Abstract
Fungal endophytes are considered one of the most important reservoirs of bioactive compounds which defeat resistant microbes. In our study, endophytic Alternaria alternata was isolated from Ziziphus spina-christi and identified morphologically and genetically with accession number OM 331,682. Preliminary phytochemical screening of ethyl acetate (EA) crude extract of A. alternata revealed that this extract contains alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, and terpenoids. Moreover, the extract was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) which verified the presence of numerous bioactive compounds. Antimicrobial results illustrated that EA crude extract exhibited promising antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 11229, Proteus vulgaris RCMB 004, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and Klebsiella pneumonia RCMB 003), Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis RCMB 015, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, and Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 14990), and unicellular fungi (Candida albicans ATCC 90028). Ultrastructure study of treated K. pneumonia showed remarkably elucidated destruction of the cell wall and cell membrane and leakage of cytoplasmic materials. Furthermore, the extract has potential antioxidant activity where IC50 was 409 µg/mL. Moreover, this extract did not show any toxicity on Vero normal cell line. These findings confirmed that the endophytic A. alternata from Z. spina-christi is a promising source of bioactive compounds which can be used in different biological applications.