Cytotoxic potential of fungi associated with rhizosphere and rhizoplane of wild and cultivated plants

Discovery of anticancer drugs that must kill or disable tumor cells in the presence of normal cells without undue toxicity is an extraordinary challenge. in the past 50 years,number of highly successful drugs based upon fungal metabolites was discovered. beside producing antibiotics,fungi have a much greater potential for producing other medicinally useful compounds including antitumor agents and immunoregulators. toxicity of plant or microbial material is considered as the presence of antitumor compounds. in this study culture filtrates of 51 fungal isolates,belonging to 15 genera viz.,alternaria,aspergillus,cephalosporium,chaetomium,cladosporium,drechslera,fusarium,macrophomina,memnoniella,myrothecium,paecilomyces,penicillium,rhizoctonia,trichoderma and verticillium (pochonia) isolated from rhizosphere and rhizoplane of cultivated and wild plants showed significant toxicity on brine shrimp (lc50 3.3-116 μl/ml). aspergillus niger (lc50 3.7μl/ml),penicillium citrinum (lc50 3.7μl/ml),p. purpurescens (lc50 3.3μl/ml) p. rugulosum (lc50 6.3 μl/ml) and penicillium sp.,(lc50 4.3 μl/ml) showing highest mortality of brine shrimp. fungi associated with rhizosphere and rhizoplane of wild and cultivated plants offer a unexhousted source of antitumour agent.