title: Screening antifungal activities of selected medicinal plants.
abstract: Plants synthesise a vast array of secondary metabolites that are gaining importance for their biotechnological applications. The antifungal activity of the ethanolic extracts of ten Argentinean plants used in native medicine is reported. Antifungal assays included radial growth inhibition, disk and well diffusion assays and growth inhibition by broth dilution tests. The chosen test fungi were yeasts, microfungi and wood-rot causing Basidiomycetes. Extracts of Larrea divaricata, Zuccagnia punctata and Larrea cuneifolia displayed remarkable activity in the assays against the majority of the test fungi. In addition to the former plants, Prosopanche americana also inhibited yeast growth.
authors.affiliation: Cátedra de Fitoquímica, Instituto de Estudios Vegetales 'Dr. Antonio R. Sampietro', Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Ayacucho 471, 4000, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina.
authors.forename: E N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Quiroga
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Sampietro
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Vattuone
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001118:Argentina; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects*; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts