title: Fungistatic and fungicidal activity of east African medicinal plants.
abstract: Extracts of the traditionally used medicinal plants Entada abyssinica (stem bark), Terminalia spinosa (young branches), Harrisonia abyssinica (roots), Ximenia caffra (roots), Azadirachta indica (stem bark), Zanha africana (stem bark) and Spilanthes mauritiana (roots and flowers) were investigated for fungistatic and fungicidal activity against Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. by a microtitre serial dilution technique. Entada abyssinica, T. spinosa, X. caffra, A. indica, and Z. africana showed activity against various Candida species. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranged from 0.006 to > 8 mg ml-1 and the minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) from 0.06 to > 8 mg ml-1. Extracts from S. mauritiana (both roots and flowers) exhibited no activity against Candida spp., but against Aspergillus spp., the MIC and MFC values ranged from 0.13 to 0.25 mg ml-1 and from 0.13 to 1 mg ml-1 respectively. It is concluded that the extracts contain compounds with high antifungal potency.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fabry
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Okemo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ansorg
mesh_terms: D000351:Africa, Eastern; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000187:drug effects*; D002175:Candida / Q000187:drug effects*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects; D016488:Medicine, African Traditional; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts