Fusarium species are commonly found in soil, water, plants, and animals. A variety of secondary metabolites with multiple biological activities have been recently isolated from Fusarium species, making Fusarium fungi a treasure trove of bioactive compounds. This mini-review comprehensively highlights the newly isolated secondary metabolites produced by Fusarium species and their various biological activities reported from 2019 to October 2024. About 276 novel metabolites were revealed from at least 21 Fusarium species in this period. The main metabolites were nitrogen-containing compounds, polyketides, terpenoids, steroids, and phenolics. The Fusarium species mostly belonged to plant endophytic, plant pathogenic, soil-derived, and marine-derived fungi. The metabolites mainly displayed antibacterial, antifungal, phytotoxic, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic activities, suggesting their medicinal and agricultural applications. This mini-review aims to increase the diversity of Fusarium metabolites and their biological activities in order to accelerate their development and applications.
Keywords: Fusarium fungi; biological activities; marine-derived fungi; nitrogen-containing metabolites; plant endophytic fungi; plant pathogenic fungi; polyketides; secondary metabolites; soil-derived fungi; terpenoids.