Screening for Antifungal Activities of Some Medicinal Plants used Traditionally in Saudi Arabia

An ancient plant Lawsonia inermis (henna): Determination of in vitro antifungal activity against dermatophytes species

“…L. inermis exhibited absolute toxicity against ringworm causing fungal species, such as M. gypseum and T. mentagrophytes. The ethanol extract of the whole plant of L. inermis showed antifungal activity against T. mantagrophytes, Candida albicans, C. neoformans, Aspergillus niger and M. canis [4,7,16,20,25,31,32,36]. Bark extract of L. inermis showed fungitoxic effect against ringworm fungi [35].…”

The antibacterial activity of traditionally used <i>Salvadora Persica</i> L. (miswak) and <i>Commiphora Gileadensis</i> (palsam) in Saudi Arabia

“…In our study, no toxicity was recorded using Artimia salina as test organisms for methanolic extracts of Salvadora and Commiphora gileadensis with LD 50 of 100, and 300mg/ml (Table 3). Toxicity studies of several local plant extracts on insects and fish must be carried out before being applied on animals (Aly and Bafeel, 2010). Some plant extracts including Mentha arvensis, Eugenia caryophyllus, and Decaspermum momtanum exhibited 100%, mortality whereas extracts of Cymbopogon citratus exhibited about 30%, mortality at the same concentration (Sukari, 1992).…”

“…The mechanisms thought to be responsible for these phytochemicals against microorganisms vary, but depend on these compounds (Aly and Bafeel, 2008). Their mechanism of actions may include enzyme inhibition by the oxidized compounds that act as sources of stable-free radical, and often leading to inactivation of the protein and loss of function Bafeel, 2010, Aly andGumgumgi, 2011). Plant extracts may contain active component, with the ability to complex with extracellular and soluble proteins of the microbial cell, and/or to complex with bacterial cell walls and disrupt microbial membranes (Ali, 1999).…”

The Antibacterial Activities of Piper nigrum L. Against Mastitis Pathogens and its Antioxidant Activities

“…Drug-resistant bacteria create additional cases of illness, longer recuperation times and unnecessary deaths that necessitated the search for novel and effective antimicrobial compounds. 4,5 This situation has forced scientists to search for new antimicrobial substances from various plants which are the good sources of novel antimicrobial chemotherapeutic agents. 6,53,57 Because of the concern about the side effects of conventional medicine, the use of natural products as an alternative to conventional treatment in healing and treatment of various diseases has been on the rise in the last few decades.…”