Abstract
The discovery of antimicrobials from traditional medicinal plants is gaining importance. The objectives of this study were to determine the anti-candidal activity of young and mature leaves of Piper betle collected from dry and wet zones of Sri Lanka, leaves and roots of Vitex negundo and leaves of Jasminum grandiflorum and the determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC). Water and ethanolic extracts of plant material were tested against standard cultures of Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis. The MICs of active extracts were determined. Ethanolic extracts of young leaves of P. betle showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) anti-candidal activity against all Candida species bioassayed, while mature leaves showed less activity. MICs of ethanolic extract of young leaves of P. betle were within 0.64 - 3.2 mg/mL. There was no significant difference between the activity of leaves of P. betle collected from wet zone and dry zone (p > 0.05). Water extracts of leaves of P. betle and water and ethanolic extracts of leaves and roots of V. negundo and leaves of J. grandiflorum did not show a significant anti-candidal activity. Hence, young leaves of P. betle can be used as an anti-candidal agent since betel leaves are used in masticatory mixtures. Key words: Candidiasis, Piper betle, young and mature leaves, MIC.
Highlights
Herbarium specimens of the three test plants were prepared with twigs carrying reproductive plant parts and the specimens were identified to be P. betle, V. negundo and J. grandiflorum by comparing with the specimens at the National Herbrium of the
The water extract of leaves of P. betle was dark green in colour, while the extracts of the leaves and roots of V
No significant difference could be observed between the anti-candidal activity of P. betle leaves collected from the wet and dry zones (p > 0.05; Figure 2)
Summary
Much focus is being given to traditionally-utilized medicinal plants for their antimicrobial properties, due to the shortcomings in most of the widely used synthetic drugs, viz; the evolution of resistance by microorganisms to prevailing antimicrobials, potential health hazards, side effects and the loss of public reliance (Livermore, 2004).In the recent past, research has proven the potential of herbal products in the development of novel, safe, Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0International LicenseAbbreviations: MIC, Minimum inhibitory concentration; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; MHA, Mueller Hinton agar; BSAC, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.Afr. J. Microbiol. Res.
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