Endophytic fungi from healthy leaf tissues of Houttuynia cordata Thunb., a widely used ethnomedicinal plant of Northeast India, were investigated, and an attempt has been made to characterize the antimicrobial metabolites from some potent endophytic strains. Altogether, 56 endophytic fungal isolates were obtained from surface-sterilized leaf fragments of H. cordata. The endophytes consisted of fungi belonging to genera Colletotrichum, Curvularia, Bipolaris, Corynespora, and Pseudozyma and non-sporulating fungi categorized as mycelia sterilia. Assay for antimicrobial activity revealed that 73.07% of the isolates showed activity against the test pathogens in varying degrees, whereas 92.32% of the isolates showed anticandida activity against Candida albicans. Among the isolates, two endophytic fungi identified as Colletotrichum coccodes and Phyllosticta capitalensis showed a significant antimicrobial activity against all the test pathogens. The metabolites obtained from C. coccodes revealed the presence of different functional groups and bioactive compounds such as geranylgeraniol, farnesol, hexacosanol, oleic acid, and squalene. Metabolites obtained from P. capitalensis also showed various functional groups and the presence of bioactive compound, 1-Octacosanol among several others. The study indicated that the ethnomedicinal plants are colonized by the rich diversity of endophytic fungi with antimicrobial activity. A further detailed investigation could practically lead to the development of pharmaceutical agents in the future.

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Background: Seed borne endophytic fungi play an important role in seed germination and plant health. There are ubiquitous and have been found associated in every plant species investigated so far. They colonize plant seeds without causing any disease and are often vertically transmitted. Despite their occurrence, seed borne endophytic fungi are poorly investigated and their role for application in agriculture is still to be elucidated. Methods: In the present study endophytic fungi associated with seeds of some indigenous rice varieties of North East, India was investigated. The isolates were determined for IAA activity in-vitro and antifungal activity against rice pathogen, Magnaporthe grisea. Crude metabolites obtained from potent isolates were characterized by GCMS analysis to reveal the presence of bioactive compounds. Result: Our result indicated that commonly isolated fungal genera were Aspergillus, Fusarium, Gliocladium, Mucor, Penicillium, Bipolaris, Basidiobolus and Mycelia sterilia. Amongst them, colonization frequency (CF %) of Fusarium (8.8%) was found to be highest and was isolated from seeds of almost all the varieties. It was observed that four isolates of Fusarium showed good IAA production in the medium amended with tryptophan. The isolates also displayed antifungal activity against Magnaporthe grisea. GCMS analysis of the metabolites indicated presence of several bioactive compounds. The study suggests that seed borne endophytes can be explored as bio-inoculants for crop improvement in future research program.

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Abstract. Borah D, Gogoi T, Sarma J, Borah PJ, Gohain B, Mili C, Upadhyaya A, Basumatary J, Neog K, Wangpan T, Tangjang S. 2021. Compendium of plants used for preparation of traditional alcoholic beverages by different major ethnic communities of Assam, Northeast India. Biodiversitas 22: 2019-2031. This paper deals with the ethnobotanical research on the preparation of traditional alcoholic beverages by Ahom, Bodo, Karbi and Mishing ethnic communities of Assam, India. Along with the information on preparation, the plant species associated with the preparation of alcoholic beverages are also recorded. Field investigations were conducted to cover 32 villages of six districts of Assam, India. The data was generated from 202 respondents using participatory rural appraisal tools including semi-structured questionnaires and personal interviews. The plant species were collected, identified and submitted in the Herbarium of Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, India. The study recorded 129 plants falling under 107 genera and 54 families which are exclusively used for the preparation of alcoholic beverages by the studied communities. The study confirmed that the association of traditional alcoholic beverages with their rich indigenous knowledge.. The finding also revealed varied forms of protocol followed by these tribes to prepare traditional liquors and the starter cakes for brewing of alcohol were prepared locally. However, the Mishing tribe was known to prepare unique rice beer known as Po:ro apong, as the preparation technique and extraction process of this liquor was slightly different. Distillation of alcohol was also observed in all the communities except the Ahom. The rich traditional knowledge of brewing alcohol and the plant species used in the process were worth documenting considering the on-going alteration of traditional society with the modernization.