Antiprotozoal Natural Products from Endophytic Fungi Associated with Cacao and Coffee.

Background: Collectively, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease cause approximately 8 million cases and more than 40,000 deaths annually, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The current drugs used to treat these diseases have limitations and many undesirable side effects; hence, new drugs with better clinical profiles are needed. Fungal endophytes associated with plants are known to produce a wide array of bioactive secondary metabolites, including antiprotozoal compounds.

Antifungal Activity of Menisporopsin A against Relevant Plant Pathogens.

Current agrochemicals used in crop farming mainly consist of synthetic compounds with harmful effects on the environment and human health. Crop-associated fungal endophytes, which play many ecological roles including defense against pathogens, represent a promising source for bioactive and ecologically safer molecules in agrochemical discovery. The methanolic extract of the endophyte sp.