Surface Sterilization of Mango’s Mistletoe Leaves (Dendrophtoe pentandra (L.) Miq.) for Endophytic Fungi Isolation

Abstract

Mango mistletoe (Dendrophthoe pentandra L. Miq) is known as a parasitic plant that has been scientifically proven to have the potential as an antihypertensive adjuvant herbal. The content of secondary metabolites in plants is produced by plants andby microorganisms that grow in plant tissues. One of them is endophytic fungi which can induce the host to produce secondary metabolites. The ability of endophytic fungi to synthesize secondary metabolites is an opportunity for the large-scale production of phytopharmaca raw materials in a short time without causing ecological damage. Before isolating endophytic fungi from the plant tissue, one needs to research surface sterilization to remove various kinds of microorganisms that are not desired. This study aims to determine the best method’s surface sterilization of the mango’s mistletoe leaves (Dendrophthoe pentandra (L.) Miq) to isolate endophytic fungi. This study used a two-factor completely randomized design. The concentration of Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl) was 5% and 10% as the first factor, and the immersion time of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 minutes was the second factor. There is a total of 10 treatments. In each treatment, there were three replications and one control. Observational data were analyzed descriptively. The results showed that application of NaOCl 10% for 3 minutes is the best and recommended method’s surface sterilization of the mango’s mistletoe leaves because the percentage of live explants is 100%, the percentage of contamination is 0%, and the percentage of explants with endophytic fungi is 100%.