Growth, phytochemicals and antifungal activity of <i>Bryophyllum pinnatum</i> L. subjected to water deficit stress

Abstract

The impact of water stress on the growth, concentration of phytochemicals and antifungal potency of Bryophyllum pinnatum L. was investigated. Three weeks old seedlings were subjected to 3, 7 and 10 days water deficit regimes and a control (watered daily). Plant height, number of leaves, whole plant dry weight, net assimilation rate, leaf area ratio and relative growth rate were reduced by 6 to 50% as intervals of water deficit increased. Alkaloids, tannins, saponins and flavonoids were present in all plants and all but alkaloids increased with increase in intervals of water deficit. Alkaloid content decreased by 1.3 to 10.5% while the other phytochemicals increased by 12 to 206% in response to water deficit stress. Ethanolic extracts of plants from the four batches showed varying inhibition zones against Candida albicans. The inhibition zones decreased with increasing water deficit intervals corresponding with the decrease in alkaloid content. This research has revealed that water stress increases the tannin, saponin and flavonoid contents of Bryophyllum but decreases the alkaloid content.

Key words: Bryophyllum, water deficit, phytochemicals, inhibition zone.