Abstract

Entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana widely used as biopesticide that specifically infect and kill insect pests. The present study was aimed to evaluate antioxidant and cytotoxic potentials of mycelia extracts of ten Beauveria bassiana isolates. Mycelia of Beauveria bassiana were extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water. Antioxidant activity possessed by the mycelial extracts was studied using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical assay. Cytotoxic activity of mycelia extracts was tested using A-549 cell lines employing sulforhodamine B assay. Among all the mycelial extracts of Beauveria bassiana isolates, ethyl acetate extract exhibited highest antioxidant activity with an IC₅₀ of 202.45 µg/ml. Highest cytotoxic activity was observed with the ethyl acetate extract (116 %) while standard cisplatin showed 102 %. Further investigations needed on isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites that could be responsible for these activities in a bid to develop new compounds for cancer.