Abstract
Background: Infectious diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms have plagued the world throughout history, causing more population exterminations than wars. With the continued increase in infectious diseases worsened by antimicrobial resistance, the search for new and effective antimicrobial compounds is underway. Additionally, compounds with antioxidant activity are of interest for drug discovery due to their defensive effects towards oxidative stress thus sequentially treating numerous diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and degenerative neurological conditions. Medicinal plants produce various compounds which are important in antimicrobial and antioxidant drug development. Combretum erythrophylum is a known hyperaccumulator and medicinal plant found in the northeastern part of South Africa and from north of Zimbabwe to south of the Eastern Cape. C. erythrophylum is used to treat leprosy, coughs, and abdominal pains. The plant has also been used as a phytoremediation option in several tailing dams in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nevertheless, widespread use of medicinal plants for drug development may lead to deforestration and ultimately, extinction of those plant species. This can, however, be alleviated by the use of endophytes as only a small amount of the plant is used for the extraction. Therefore, endophytic microorganisms (fungi and bacteria) residing within medicinal plants, which produce novel compounds can be utilized in drug development. Furthermore, endophytes improve phytoremediation of heavy metals by stimulating plant growth and metal uptake by the plant...
Ph.D. (Biochemistry)