Fungal metabolites as anticancer agent and their agricultural applications

The flora on this earth is the treasure house of many constituents beneficial for various applications in the fields of medicine, biomedical, and agriculture. The vast kingdom of eukaryotes and prokaryotes has been researched to find out many leads with potential activities. Among the eukaryotes, fungi are the largest organism that contributes many compounds of interest in the field of medicine and agriculture. The different types of fungi are yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. They are the sources of food, organic acids, amino acids, alcohols, antibiotics, and growth-promoting substances. In the field of biomedical applications, cancer is one of the diseases, which require newer molecules of higher potency, the least toxicity with the highest efficacy. Though several anticancer leads are being invented and established, still new molecules are in quest. The search for anticancer agents from natural sources has been proven in terms of their safety, efficacy, and drugability. Taxols, podophyllotoxins, and anthracyclins are in use for decades, but their off-target toxicity, development of resistance, and other chemotherapeutic complications limit their use. As a natural source, fungi are a rich source of metabolites that are researched as potential anticancer agents. This chapter reviews the different classes of fungi along with mushrooms as a source of anticancer moieties. Similarly, the secondary metabolites from fungal strains are established as biofertilizers and biopesticides. This chapter includes the potential application of secondary metabolites of fungal strains in the field of cancers and sustainable agriculture. This chapter can show a new horizon to mycologists, oncologists, and agriculturists towards the invention of new molecules from fungal metabolites.