First report on a novel N igrospora sphaerica isolated from C atharanthus roseus plant with anticarcinogenic properties

Summary This paper reports on the vinca alkaloid produced by a novel Nigrospora sphaerica isolated from Catharanthus roseus . Through liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry ( LCMS ), only the crude mycelia extract of this fungus was positive for determination of vinblastine. This vinca alkaloid was then purified by using high‐performance liquid chromatography ( HPLC ) and tested for cytotoxicity activity using MTT assays. The breast cell line cancer ( MDA ‐ MB 231) was treated with a purified vinblastine which was intracellulary produced by N. sphaerica . The purified vinblastine from extracted leaf of C. roseus was used as a standard comparison. A positive result with a value of half maximal inhibitory concentration ( IC 50 ) of > 32 μg ml −1 was observed compared with standard ( IC 50 ) of 350 μg ml −1 only. It showed that a vinblastine produced by N. sphaerica has a high cytotoxicity activity even though the concentration of vinblastine produced by this endophytic fungus was only 0.868 μg ml −1 .