Evaluation of the antibacterial and antioxidant potential of the endophytic fungus EFY14 from Cannabis sativa L. leaves through metabolomics and molecular docking

Endophytic fungi are prolific sources of natural antioxidants and antibacterial agents. This study aims to isolate and identify the endophytic fungus EFY14 from Cannabis sativa L. leaves and to evaluate the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of its culture filtrates. Non-targeted metabolomics was employed to chemically profile the EFY14 crude extract, a potential biological targets were predicted through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. EFY14 was taxonomically identified as belonging to the Chaetomium genus. Its extract contained 20.823 ± 1.449 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/L total phenolic and 0.230 ± 0.007 mg rutin equivalent (RE)/mL total flavonoids, displaying antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Metabolomic profiling identified flavonoids and phenolic compounds, including 4′,7-dihydroxy-8-methylisoflavone, scopoletin, xanthohumol, tricin, sophoraflavanone G, prenyl glucoside, melilotoside and maltol. Molecular docking indicated potential molecular targets for these metabolites. These findings suggest that EFY14 derived endophytic fungi from C. sativa L. may represent a novel source of antioxidant and antibacterial compounds.