Isolation and Purification of Bioactive Metabolites from Fungal Endophytes– A Review

Endophytes are the microorganisms that occur within the tissues of the plants without causing any noticeable symptoms and diseases to the host. In general, fungi and bacteria are the most common microbes exist as endophytes in plants. In recent years, endophytic fungi are known to produce several bioactive secondary metabolites, mainly used in pharmaceutical, agricultural and industrial applications. This review describes the isolation of naturally occurring bioactive compounds from endophytic microorganisms. In the recent past, a wealth of information on the isolation and purification of bioactive secondary metabolites from various endophytes have been reported. As endophytes produce these secondary metabolites in lower concentrations, it is required to employ improved isolation and purification methods of these secondary metabolites for their complete recovery.