Evaluation of antifungal potential of selected medicinal plants against human pathogenic fungi

Abstract

Context: Evaluation of medicinal plants used in traditional medicine lead to novel bioactive compounds with antifungal activity that couldbe exploited as therapeutic agents. Aims: The aim was to screen selected medicinal plants for antifungal activity against three important human pathogenic fungi and to identify the broad group of phytochemicals responsible for the activity. Materials and Methods: A total of 8 medicinal plants were screened for antifungal activity against three human pathogenic fungi. Aqueous and the solvent extracts of the plant materials were prepared by polarity based solvent extraction. Antifungal activity was tested by well and disc diffusion methods.Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the active extract was determined by microâ€broth dilution technique. Phytochemical analysis of the active extract was done. Statistical Analysis Used: The results were statistically analysed by Oneâ€Way analysis of variance with Postâ€hoc Tukey’s B test at P < 0.05 using the Software SPSS version 20 (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY Released 2011).

Results: Significant antifungal activity was observed in the aqueous extracts of the fruits of Terminalia chebula (47.75 mm) against Microsporum gypseum and the mesocarp of Persea americana (40.5 mm) against Microsporum canis. Candida albicans was inhibited by the ethyl acetate (20 mm) and aqueous extracts (16 mm) of T. chebula fruits and aqueous extract of the seeds of Syzygium jambos (16 mm). The aqueous extract of mesocarp of P. americana showed lowest MIC value (312.5 μg/ml) against M. canis and M. gypseum. Phytochemical analysis of the active extracts revealed the presence of phenols, tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids. Conclusions: The study validates the use of theplants in the treatment of fungal infections and has provided important leads for the discovery of new plantâ€based antifungal agents.

Key words: Antifungal activity, dermatophytes, Persea americana, phytochemical analysis, syzygium jambos, Terminalia chebula