Detection, quantification, and toxicity evaluation of bioactive compounds produced by Fusarium oxysporum

The Fusarium genus contains several parasitic species, most of which cause plant diseases. In this study, we focused on a strain of Fusarium isolated from bean plants infected by the fungus, its molecular identification and production of metabolites. For identification purposes, the LSU region and the triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) gene were amplified by PCR. The resulting fragments were sequenced, and the analysis revealed 100% similarity with Fusarium oxysporum. Furthermore, the fungus was cultivated in a liquid medium to produce biomass, which was then used for metabolite extraction with five different solvents. The culture broth was utilized as an extracellular extract. Total phenol quantification indicated 5.4 mgGAE/g in the intracellular aqueous extract and 2.8 mgGAE/g extracellularly. The highest amount of flavonoids was also found in the intracellular extracts: water (1.77 mgQE/g) and acetone (1.56 mgQE/g), with no record in the culture broth. In terms of antioxidant activity, the aqueous intracellular extracts showed approximately three times higher activity than that recorded in the culture broth. Additionally, the aqueous and methanolic extracts obtained from the biomass did not exhibit cytotoxic effects on Artemia salina. This suggests that these extracts could be further evaluated on cell lines and potentially utilized for biotechnological purposes.