<i>In vitro</i> antifungal activity of methanol extracts of some Indian medicinal plants against pathogenic yeast and moulds

Abstract

The methanol extract of 9 Indian medicinal plants belonging to 9 different families were evaluated for in vitro antifungal activity against some yeasts including Candida albicans (1) ATCC2091, C. albicans (2) ATCC18804, Candida glabrata NCIM3448, Candida tropicalis ATCC4563, Cryptococcus luteolus ATCC32044, Cryptococcus neoformans ATCC34664, Trichosporon beigelli NCIM3404, and some moulds such as Aspergillus candidus NCIM883, Aspergillus flavus NCIM538, Aspergillus niger ATCC6275 and Mucor heimalis NCIM873. The in vitro antifungal activity was evaluated at three different concentrations by agar disc diffusion method and the activity obtained was not concentration dependent. A. flavus was the most susceptible fungal strain while C. glabrata was the most resistant one. Saussurea lappa showed the best antifungal activity. The results were compared with the standard antifungals