Role of Endophytic Fungi in the Production of Therapeutics

Endophytic fungi reside inter or intracellularly in plant parts for at least a portion of their lives without causing apparent symptoms of infection. Endophytic fungi are ubiquitous fungi. All plants in the natural environment can shelter endophytic fungi, including algae, mosses, ferns, conifers and angiosperms. Endophytic fungi are an important source of bioactive molecules. These bioactive metabolites have a broad range of biological activities and could be the starting materials for pharmaceuticals or lead structures for the development of pharmaceutical or agrochemical products. Indeed, these bioactive molecules represent a chemical reservoir for discovering new compounds, such as antibiotic, antioxidant, immunomodulating, anticancer and antiparasitic compounds, for use in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries.