Abstract

Endophytic fungi have garnered attention for their ability to synthesize chemical compounds similar to those of their host plants. This study evaluated the bioactivities of BwKpRt-1, an endophytic fungus associated with Kaempferia parviflora rhizome. Bioactivity analyses included antioxidant assays, antibacterial, and antiproliferative toward cell lines, identified a fungal species and its chemical compounds using liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Docking study for equisetin was also carried out in this research. The extract of BwKpRt-1 demonstrated antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 57.36 μg/ml (DPPH) or AAI value of 0.5 (moderate). Its α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities were 0.121 ± 0.02 nmole/minute/ml and 335.38 unit/l, respectively. Antibacterial activity is strong against Staphylococcus aureus with a minimum inhibitory concentration value of 64 μg/ml. The anticancer activity of this extract against MCF-7 and A549 showed IC50, which were 58.61 and 42.64 μg/ml. Chemical compound analysis using LC-HRMS identified equisetin as a main compound (42.18%). Docking study showed that Equisetin (EQ) exhibits stronger antioxidant and anticancer potential than standard drugs, showing lower energy affinities than vitamin C (VitC) for HsKEAP1 (−8.5 vs. −6.1 kcal/mol) and doxorubicin (DXR) for HsEGFR (−8.5 vs. −7.8 kcal/mol). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that BwKpRt-1 had a 99.08% similarity to Fusarium equiseti. These findings highlight the potential of F. equiseti BwKpRt-1 as a source of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical applications.

Key words: endophytic fungi, Fusarium equiseti BwKpRt-1, Kaempferia parviflora, bioactivities, LC-HRMS