Antifungal activity of some medicinal plant extracts against some fungal isolates

Abstract

Introduction: Fungi live everywhere in the environment, most of them are not dangerous, but some types of fungi can be harmful to humanhealth. The medicinal plants contain many antimicrobial components that make them recently used as powerful drugs. The aim of the present investigation was to examine the antifungal potential and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of three plant extract: Aloe vera gel, cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) against three fungal species: Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans and Fusarium oxysporum. Materials and Methods: The plant materials were extracted using solvents DMSO and ethanol and then were tested against the selected fungal isolates using well diffusion method. Results and Discussion: Antifungal activity of Aloe vera against Aspergillus niger showed MIC value of 25% whereas for Candida albicans and Fusarium oxysporum the MIC obtained was 100%. Both cinnamon and turmeric showed maximum potency against Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans and Fusarium oxysporum at highest MIC value of 100 %. The degree of inhibition increased correspondingly with increasing concentrations of the plant extracts. Conclusions: the tested plant extracts have an antifungal activity and could be used as alternative drugs.