Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:1685-1692.

Abstract

Fungi associated with Vaccinium species play important roles in plant growth and disease control, especially in the final
blueberry production. Vaccinium dunalianum var. urophyllum (Ericaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant in Southern
China used to treat inflammation and microbial infections. The endophytic fungi from these plants are therefore anticipated
as potential new sources of antimicrobials. In this report, the inhibitory effects of endophytes against clinical bacteria
and yeast were comprehensively screened and 11 isolates indicated high bioactivity by the agar diffusion method. The
corresponding crude extracts of these fungi under submerged fermentation also demonstrated distinct differences and
n-butyl alcohol displayed the lowest extraction efficiency among the extracts. The ethyl acetate and dichloromethane
extracts of filtrates from the Colletotrichum sp. VD001, Epicoccum nigrum VD021 and E. nigrum VD022 strains
displayed good properties against pathogenic microorganisms according to disc diffusion assays and minimal inhibitory
concentration (MIC). This study is the first indicating that cultivable endophytic fungi associated with blueberry plants
produce potential compounds against clinical pathogens.