## 4 Discussion  
Fungi colonizing the different tissues of medicinal plants are known as a prolific source of secondary metabolites with remarkable anticancer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities [12]. In the curent investigation, a total of 24 culturable fungi assigned to 10 genera, including _Aspergillus_, _Penicillium_, _Fusarium_, _Xylaria_, _Talaromyces_, _Nodulsporium_, _Apiospora_, _Neopestalioopsis_, _Diaporthe_, and _Hypoxylon_, was successfully recovered from _K. evelyniana_. All the fungal isolates in this study belonged to the phylum Ascomycota, which is one of the most diverse and ubiquitous phyla of eukaryotes [26]. It was also in agreement with previous studies that the fungal genera most commonly isolated from medicinal plants are _Fusarium_, _Aspergillus_, and _Penicillium_[12, 27]. According to [PERSON] et al. (2014) [28], the fungal endophytes isolated from _Pinus wallichiana_ belong to 38 genera, in which _Alternaria_ was the dominant. _Alternaria_ endophytes were not found in _K. evelyniana_; meanwhile, the genera _Talaromyces_, _Nodulsporium_, _Neopestalioopsis_, _Apiospora_, and _Hypoxylon_ were not observed in _P. wallichiana_. Morphological traits of _Penicillium_ fungi in _K. evelyniana_ were consistent with those isolated from _Tsuga chinensis_[13], while some _Fusarium_ strains in this study shared similar colony appearance with the endophytes found in _Amentotaxis yunnanensis_[2]. Interestingly, some novel _Fusarium_ strains in this study (such as _F. boothi_, _F. hainanense_) have not been found in both _T. chinensis_ and _A. yunnanensis_, though these Pinaceae plants serve as a habitat for several _Fusarium_ species. It holds true that the distribution of fungal communities within plants always vary due to host specificity and their interactions with distinct ecological niches. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to report the presence of endophytic fungi from _K. evelyniana_. The preliminary screening of the antimicrobial activity revealed _K. evelyniana_ as the host of endophytic fungi producing significant antimicrobial activity. About 33.3% of fungal strains exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least one pathogen, which was higher in comparison with 26.1% of active fungal extracts isolated from _Pinus wallichiana_[28]. In contrast, only 19% of total fungal endophytes isolated from the medicinal plant _Arabidae chica_ could inhibit at least two pathogens, which was lower than that of _K. evelyniana_. Among bioactive strains, the most potent antibacterial activity was exhibited by the extract of _F. boothii_ KET9. The fungus _F. boothii_ is an important pathogen of barley, maize, pecan, and wheat [29]; however, the origin of this strain as an endophyte and its antibacterial activity have not been reported. Therefore, the extraction and determination of antimicrobial compounds produced by _F. boothii_ KET9 will be an interesting subject in the near future. It was observed that the extract of _Xylaria_ sp. KET18 displayed the most powerful antimicrobial and anticancer activities. The chemical analysis revealed the presence of five known compounds, including methyl pyroglutamate, 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl) ethanol, prunetin, macrolactin A, and macrolactin F. Methyl pyroglutamate and 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethanol are two oily, colorless compounds; meanwhile, the two macrolactins are powdery yellow compounds, and prunetin is a powdery white compound. Previous studies indicated that methyl pyroglutamate and prunetin are plant-derived compounds, while macrolactins are mainly produced by _Bacillus_ spp. [21, 30]. For the first time, this study demonstrates the production of methyl pyroglutamate, prunetin, and macrolactins by an endophytic fungus. Prunetin has been demonstrated for the cytotoxic effects on AGS [31] (human gastric adenocarcinoma) and MG-63 [32] (human osteosarcomacell lines). In this study, prunetin was demonstrated for cytotoxicity against A549 and MCF7 cell lines (IC\({}_{50}\) < 100 \(\mu\)M).