Fungal endophytes have remarkable potential to produce bioactive compounds with numerous pharmacological significance that are used in various disease management and human welfare. In the current study, a total of eight fungal endophytes were isolated from the leaf tissue of Amoora rohituka, and out of which ethyl acetate (EA) extract of Penicillium oxalicum was found to exhibit potential antioxidant activity against DPPH, nitric oxide, superoxide anion and hydroxyl free radicals with EC50 values of 178.30 ± 1.446, 75.79 ± 0.692, 169.28 ± 0.402 and 126.12 ± 0.636 µg/mL, respectively. The significant antioxidant activity of EA extract of P. oxalicum is validated through highest phenolic and flavonoid content, and the presence of unique bioactive components observed through high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) fingerprinting. Moreover, EA extract of P. oxalicum also displayed substantial anti-proliferative activity with IC50 values of 56.81 ± 0.617, 37.24 ± 1.26 and 260.627 ± 5.415 µg/mL against three cancer cells HuT-78, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, respectively. Furthermore, comparative HPTLC fingerprint analysis and antioxidant activity of P. oxalicum revealed that fungal endophyte P. oxalicum produces bioactive compounds in a host-dependent manner. Therefore, the present study signifies that fungal endophyte P. oxalicum associated with the leaf of A. rohituka could be a potential source of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anticancer activity.
Keywords: Amoora rohituka; Penicillium oxalicum; antioxidant activity; cytotoxic activity; fungal endophyte.