Evaluation of Extracts Produced by Some Tropical Fungi as Potential Cholinesterase Inhibitors

Summary Extracts of culture filtrates of fungal taxa belonging to Chaetomium sp., Guignardia mangiferae, Pestalotiopsis guepinii, Phomopsis sp., Physalospora sp., Xylaria sp., and sterile mycelium isolated as endophytes from leaves of members of the plant families Anacardiaceae, Apocynaceae, Leguminosae and Palmae; and seven different species of Penicillium isolated from insects were tested for their in vitro acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitory activity using Ellman’s colorimetric method adapted for thin layer chromatography. The results showed high rate of cholinesterase inhibitory activity, with the best result being obtained with Penicillium extracts, indicating that they might represent a valuable source for pharmaceutical applications and are worthy of further study.