Fungistatic and fungicidal activity of East African medicinal plants

Abstract

Extracts of the traditionally used medicinal plants Entada abyssinica (stem bark), Terminalia spinosa (young branches), Harrisonia abyssinica (roots), Ximenia caffra (roots), Azadirachta indica (stem bark), Zanha africana (stem bark) and Spilanthes mauritiana (roots and flowers) were investigated for fungistatic and fungicidal activity against Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. by a microtitre serial dilution technique. Entada abyssinica, T. spinosa, X. caffra, A. indica, and Z. africana showed activity against various Candida species. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged from 0.006 to > 8 mg ml-1 and the minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) from 0.06 to > 8 mg ml-1. Extracts from S. mauritiana (both roots and flowers) exhibited no activity against Candida spp., but against Aspergillus spp., the MIC and MFC values ranged from 0.13 to 0.25 mg ml-1 and from 0.13 to 1 mg ml-1 respectively. It is concluded that the extracts contain compounds with high antifungal potency.

Medicinal plant use of villagers in the Mopani district, Limpopo province, South Africa

“…Ximenia caffra, indicated for treatment of diabetes and sexually transmitted infections in this study, was shown elsewhere to possess antibacterial activity (Fabry et al, 1998). Fabry et al (1996) demonstrated the antifungal activity of Ximenia caffra. These findings validate the continued use of the plant species in treating sexually transmitted diseases, especially those caused by fungal and bacterial pathogens.…”

Bioactivity guided isolation of the antifungal components in sawdust extracts of Piptadeniatrum africanum, and Terminalia ivorensis

“…Terpenoids, essential oils and some flavonoid compounds were reported to exhibit antifungal activities on some brown and white rot fungi (Cobb et al, 1968;Carll and Highley, 1999). Some of these compounds, such as saponin, were found to be fungistatic (Ahmad et al, 1998;Zehavi et al, 2008) while others, such as terpenoids, were found to be fungicidal (Fabry et al, 1996;Molina-Torres et al, 2004;Tripathi et al, 2008).…”

Metronidazole–Flavonoid Derivatives as Anti‐Helicobacter pylori Agents with Potent Inhibitory Activity against HPE‐Induced Interleukin‐8 Production by AGS Cells

“…All strains were cultured on Columbia Agar (BioMerieux, France) supplemented with 7 % sheep blood and cultured for 3 days at 37 8C under microaerophilic conditions with high humidity as detailed elsewhere. [21] Antimicrobial activity. Antimicrobial activity against H. pylori was determined by the agar dilution method recommended by the national committee for clinical laboratory (NCCL) standards.…”