Isaria entomopathogenic fungi: Chemistry and biological potency

Since 5000 BCE, mushrooms have been widely consumed around the world as edible food and traditional medicines with a variety of pharmaceutical applications. Entomopathogenic fungi are very rich sources of novel metabolites with significant biological activities that support their use in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. The fruit bodies of numerous Isaria spp. (>100 species) are healthy edible food and medicines across the world, especially in East Asia. Several Isaria fungi are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of ailments. Many scientists, therefore, focused on the chemical characterization of fungal culture extracts of different species because of their pharmaceutical and biological potentialities. Several interesting metabolites were identified in the culture extracts of Isaria spp., including peptides, spiro-compounds, alkaloids such as isariotins, polyketides, terpenes, oosporein, and miscellaneous types. Moreover, the extracts and metabolites of these fungi were documented to have significant biological activities such as antitumor, antimicrobial, antiaging, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, immunomodulator, antidepression, and others. This chapter focuses on the advances in Isaria fungi research.