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A Endophytic Fungal Diversity in Medicinal Plants of Kenya: Azadirachta indica A. Juss and Melia azedarach L.

Osano, A.; Dill, R.; Okoth, S.; Arnold, E.; Lee, M.-m.; Chery, V.; Amakhobe, T.; Oballa, G.; Egami, H.; Aran, P.; Bauer, E.; Maro, C.; Oyekanmi, J.

2026-01-06 plant biology
10.64898/2026.01.05.697769 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Endophytic fungi that asymptomatically reside in plant tissues are of growing interest as promising sources of biologically active agents. In this study we identified endophytic fungi from healthy flowers, bark, leaves, fruit and resin of the traditionally used medicinal plants Azadirachta indica A. Juss (neem) and Melia azedarach L (melia) in Kenya. . A total of 95 fungi were isolated from neem and 46 from melia. More fungi were isolated from leaves of neem (80%) and melia (70%), compared with bark, fruits and resins. Asomycetous fungi were the most commonly isolated fungi from the two plant species, including Phomopsis sp., Penicillium sp., Colletotrichum sp. and Preussia sp. Neem exhibited high fungal richness compared with melia. Geographic differences in predominant species were observed. Characterizing endophytic fungi in medicinal plants has the potential to identify producers of secondary metabolites that may be of medicinal interest, and studying these fungi in areas of Africa where surveys have not yet been conducted opens the door to a new understanding of endophyte biodiversity.

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