PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF MORINGA OLEIFERA AND ITS ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI

Objective: Moringa oleifera Lam (Moringaceae) is a highly valued plant, which has an impressive range of medicinal uses with high nutritional value. Different parts of plant were being used for the treatment of illness due to presence of various secondary metabolites that gives the plant anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant and other properties. These secondary metabolites are synthesised by endophytic organisms which are present inside tissues of plant. Methods: ITS regions were amplified using polymerase chain reaction for molecular identification. The sequences were analysed using BLASTn and DNA barcoding of plant was done for identification of species. The organisms were refined on Potato Dextrose stock for identification of metabolites. Results: It was found that fungi obtained are Aspergillus fumigatus and Tricoderma turrialbense with percentage identity of 96% and 98% respectively, as obtained from NCBI BLAST The metabolites were extracted with ethanol extract and Flavonoids and terpenoids are the main phytoconstituents present in endophytic fungi. Conclusion: The results obtained support the medicinal properties of plant, which gets enhanced due to the presence of endophytic fungi present in them