Different endopthytic fungi isolated from Catheranthus roseus were tested for their ability to produce Taxol. Taxol extracted from fermentation culture of the isolated fungus Cladosporium cladosporioides was identified by UV, TLC, mass spectroscopy and HPLC. The isolated strain was identified as Cladosporium cladosporioides based on morphological characteristics and the analysis of the 18S rDNA sequence. HPLC quantification of fungal Taxol showed that Cladosporium cladosporioides was capable of producing 700µg/l of Taxol on potato dextrose broth. The optimum culture conditions for Taxol production by the isolated Cladosporium cladosporioides were tested on M1D medium after 10 days of incubation at 25 °C, pH 5.5 in the presence of sucrose and ammonium tartrate as carbon and nitrogen sources respectively. Also different concentrations of benzoic acid, 4-hydroxy benzoic acid, vanadyl sulphate, serinol and salicylic acid were evaluated for their inducing activity on Taxol production by the isolated endophytic fungus. This study offers important information and a new source for the production of the important anticancer drug Taxol by endophytic fungus fermentation. The antitumor activity of fungal Taxol was tested against human tumor cell line HepG-2 (liver carcinoma) using in vitro clonogenic assays.
Key words: Taxol production, endophytic fungus, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Catheranthus roseus
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