Antifungal Activity of Piper betle, Ocimum sanctum Linn, Curcuma longa and Murraya koenigii on Candida albicans

Abstract

Context:Over the years drug resistance has become a common phenomenon and it holds true for antifungal drugs also. In the ancient Indian scriptures like Sushruta Samhita, Charaka Samhita, the medicinal plants having the antimicrobial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties have been described. Some of these plants are Piper betle (Paan), Ocimum sanctum Linn (Tulsi), Curcuma longa (Turmeric) and Murraya koenigii (Currypatta Plant). Aims and Objectives: To determine antifungal activity of different plants extracts by experimentally recoding their zone of inhibition and also determining their minimum inhibitory concentration. Material and Methods: Fresh extracts of all plants were collected and ethyl acetate, ethanolic and aqueous extracts have been prepared. MIC was determined using tube dilution method and zone of inhibition is recorded in agar plates with Candida albicans. The data for the present study was entered in the Microsoft Excel 2007 and analyzed using the SPSS statistical software 23.0 Version. The descriptive statistics included mean and standard deviation. The intergroup comparison was done using independent t test and Chi Square test to find the difference between the individual groups. The level of the significance for the present study was fixed at 5 %. Results: Out of all four plants extracts Piper betle showed maximum antifungal activity in ethyl acetate and ethanolic solutions, while in aqueous solution Murraya koenigii showed high antifungal activity. MIC value of Piper betle is 125 µg/L which was lowest among the four used extracts. Conclusion: Piper betle showed promising antifungal activity and thus can be further studied for its practical applications in modern medicine.