Culture conditions affect the production of secondary metabolites in endophytic fungi. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the yield and anticancer and antioxidant activity of endophytic fungi extracts from the cactus Lophocereus marginatus, under different culture conditions. The strains Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus versicolor, Metarhizium anisopliae, and Cladosporium sp. were fermented in different culture media (potato dextrose agar, Czapeck broth, and malt broth), types of inoculums (spore or mycelium), and shaking conditions (150 rpm or static) for one week. Methanol extracts were obtained from mycelia, which was followed by determining their yields and evaluating their effect on L5178Y-R murine lymphoma cells growth and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) viability, using the 3-[4,5dimethylthiazol-2-yl]2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide reduction colorimetric assay. In addition, antioxidant activity was determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl test. We determined the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of tumor cell growth inhibition, the selectivity index (SI), and the antioxidant activity, as compared with the healthy cells control. The best yields were obtained with the Czapeck broth medium in all the evaluated strains, reaching values of 50.3%. Of the 48 extracts evaluated, only seven significantly (p < 0.01) inhibited tumor cell growth (IC50 < 250 µg/mL). A. versicolor extract showed the highest anticancer activity, after culturing spores (IC50 = 49.62 µg/mL; SI = 15.8) or mycelium (IC50 = 69.67 µg/mL; SI = 12.2) in malt broth, under static conditions. Extracts did not present significant antioxidant activity. In conclusion, we showed that culture conditions influenced the anticancer activity of L. marginatus endophytic fungi.
Keywords: Aspergillus versicolor; Metarhizium anisopliae; antitumor; endophyte; fermentation; lymphoma.