Bioactivity evaluation of compounds produced by Fusarium equiseti from Kaempferia parviflora rhizome from Indonesia

Endophytic fungi have garnered attention for their ability to synthesize chemical compounds similar to those of their host plants. This study evaluated the bioactivities of BwKpRt-1, an endophytic fungus associated with Kaempferia parviflora rhizome. Bioactivity analyses included antioxidant assays, antibacterial, and antiproliferative toward cell lines, identified a fungal species and its chemical compounds using liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Docking study for equisetin was also carried out in this research. The extract of BwKpRt-1 demonstrated antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 57.36 µg/ml (DPPH) or AAI value of 0.5 (moderate). Its α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities were 0.121 ± 0.02 nmole/minute/ml and 335.38 unit/l, respectively. Antibacterial activity is strong against Staphylococcus aureus with a minimum inhibitory concentration value of 64 µg/ml. The anticancer activity of this extract against MCF-7 and A549 showed IC50, which were 58.61 and 42.64 µg/ml. Chemical compound analysis using LC-HRMS identified equisetin as a main compound (42.18%). Docking study showed that Equisetin (EQ) exhibits stronger antioxidant and anticancer potential than standard drugs, showing lower energy affinities than vitamin C (VitC) for HsKEAP1 (−8.5 vs. −6.1 kcal/mol) and doxorubicin (DXR) for HsEGFR (−8.5 vs. −7.8 kcal/mol). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that BwKpRt-1 had a 99.08% similarity to Fusarium equiseti. These findings highlight the potential of F. equiseti BwKpRt-1 as a source of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical applications.