Screening for Antifungal Activities of Some Medicinal Plants used Traditionally in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Aly, M.M. and Bafeel, S.O. 2010. Screening for antifungal activities of some medicinal plants used traditionally in Saudi Arabia. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 38: 39–44. The antimicrobial activities of water and organic crude extracts of 6 medicinal plants (Azadirachta Indica (neem), Zingiber officinale (ginger), Eucalyptus globules, Lawsonia inermis, Lepidium sativum and Rosmarinus officinalis) were detected against different pathogenic yeasts and fungi including strains that were highly resistant to amphotericin B and ketoconazole. Two species of yeasts: Candida albicans and C. tropicals and different species of fungi were used as test organisms. The most active antimicrobial plants were the extract of A. indica, Z. officinale, E. globules and L. inermis with minimal inhibitory concentration (MICs) values ranging from 100–250 μg/ml. Moderate toxicity was recorded at 500 μg/ml for A. Indica and at 600 μg/ml for E. globules. No antitumor activities for the different plant extracts were recorded using the biochemical induction assay (BIA) and Escherichia coli as a test organism. In conclusion, these plants are rich in a wide variety of secondary metabolites, which have been found in vitro to have antimicrobial properties