title: Antifungal activity in plants from Chinese traditional and folk medicine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  From over 100 Chinese clinical trial publications, we retrieved 22 commercial preparations and 17 clinical prescriptions used as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for treating mycotic vaginitis, typically caused by Candida albicans. The 8 most frequently used plants as well as another 7 TCM and 18 folk medicinal plants used in the South of China for antifungal therapy were investigated for in vitro antifungal activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  For each plant we tested 4 extracts prepared with different solvents (water, ethanol, acetone, and n-hexane) for inhibition of Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae growth in liquid culture.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Some plants have quite strong antifungal activity, such as Tujinpi (Pseudolarix kaempferi Gord.), of which each extract could significantly inhibit the growth of both tested fungi. In addition, the acetone extract of Kushen (Sophora flavescens Ait.), the ethanol, acetone, and hexane extracts of Guanghuoxiang (Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth.) and Gaoliangjiang (Alpinia officinarum Hance), the hexane extract of Dingxiang (Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb.), and the ethanol and acetone extracts of Kulianpi (Melia toosendan Sieb. et Zucc.) and Laliao (Polygonum hydropiper L.), all inhibited Candida albicans growth by more than 50%. In some cases growth inhibition was even comparable to that by the clinically used antifungal miconazole, which we used as our positive control.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of plants, whose clinical use for antifungal treatment is well supported within TCM or Chinese folk medicine, show in vitro antifungal activity against Candida albicans. Since Candida species represent the most common fungal pathogen of humans, these results provide more scientific evidence supporting the clinical application of these plants, and can serve as a starting point for new drug discovery from TCM and Chinese folk medicine.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Qingfei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luyten
authors.forename: Klaartje
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pellens
authors.forename: Yiming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thevissen
authors.forename: Qionglin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Bruno P A
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Cammue
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schoofs
authors.forename: Guoan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts