Secondary metabolites of the culturable endophytic fungus Penicillium chrysogenum and their plant growth regulator activity

This study reports the isolation of two natural compounds, zearalenone and hyrtiosulawesine, from the endophytic fungus Penicillium chrysogenum isolate SR192 which is associated with the invasive plant species Solanum rostratum . In general, both isolated compounds exhibited a dose-dependent stimulatory effect on the growth of four weed species when concentrations ranging from 5 to 100 µg mL-1 were tested. However, suppressive effects were observed when the concentration was increased to 500 µg mL-1, suggesting a biphasic response. Our findings indicate that these compounds have the potential to be further investigated as environment-friendly plant growth regulatory agents.