In vitro Antifungal Activity of Plant Extracts against Pathogens of Clinical and Agricultural Importance and Phytochemical Analysis of the Active Compounds

This study was carried out with an objective to investigate the antifungal potentials of 14 plants known for medicinal properties against the human pathogen, Candida albicans and the tea pathogen, L. theobromae. Soxhlet extracts prepared from leaves in various organic solvents were first screened fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEnvironment and ecology Vol. 37; no. 1A; p. 263
Main Authors Saha, Dipanwita, Chakraborty, Anindita, Kumar, Ramashish, Raychaudhury, Bikramjit
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Kalyani MKK Publications 01.01.2019
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Summary:This study was carried out with an objective to investigate the antifungal potentials of 14 plants known for medicinal properties against the human pathogen, Candida albicans and the tea pathogen, L. theobromae. Soxhlet extracts prepared from leaves in various organic solvents were first screened for their antifungal activity by agar diffusion method. While all tested plants showed antifungal activity, evident from distinct inhibition zones on PDA plates, extracts from Clausena excavata, Ocimum sanctum, Piper betle, Polyalthia longifolia and Xanthium strumarium exhibited higher activities and were selected for phytochemical analysis. L. theobromae was found to be more susceptible than C. albicans. Bioautography with the test pathogens revealed the presence of antifungal compounds which appeared as clear zones of inhibition against fungus growth on developed TLC plates. X. strumarium and C. excavata showed two antifungal zones each while each of the other 3 extracts produced single antifungal zone. Application of spray reagents on TLC revealed the chemical nature of all active compounds. Both compounds from X. strumarium were sesquiterpenes and those from C. excavata were furano-coumarins. Bioactive compounds from O. sanctum, P. longifo/ia and P betle were found to be monoterpene, diterpene and phenolic respectively. The results form the basis for further characterization and development of newer fungicidal compounds.
ISSN:0970-0420