title: Antifungal activity of pomegranate peel extract and isolated compound punicalagin against dermatophytes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dermatophyte species infect the epidermis and appendages, often with serious social and health-economic consequences. The hydroalcoholic extract of pomegranate fruit peel showed activity against the dermatophyte fungi Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, Microsporum canis and M. gypseum.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hydroalcoholic extract was prepared with pomegranate peels. This crude extract was fractionated and submitted to liquid-liquid partition, resulting in an active fraction which was fractionated in a Sephadex LH-20 column, followed by a Lobar column. The structure of the active compound was established with the use of spectroscopic methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The crude extract of pomegranate fruit peel showed activity against the dermatophytes Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, Microsporum canis, and M. gypseum, with MICs values of 125 μg/ml and 250 μg/ml, respectively for each genus. Punicalagin was isolated and identified by spectroscopic analysis. The crude extract and punicalagin showed activity against the conidial and hyphal stages of the fungi. The cytotoxicity assay showed selectivity for fungal cells than for mammalian cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicated that the crude extract and punicalagin had a greater antifungal activity against T. rubrum, indicating that the pomegranate is a good target for study to obtain a new antidermatophyte medicine.
authors.affiliation: Post graduation in Microbiology, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil. simone.r.foss@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Simone R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Foss
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil. cvnakamura@uem.br.
authors.forename: Celso V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil. tunakamura@uem.br.
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueda-Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Departament of Pharmacy, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil. dagcortez@uem.br.
authors.forename: Diógenes A G
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cortez
authors.affiliation: Post graduation in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil. eliharue@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Eliana H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil. bpdfilho@uem.br.
authors.forename: Benedito P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Dias Filho
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003883:Arthrodermataceae / Q000187:drug effects*; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D029561:Lythraceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D047348:Hydrolyzable Tannins; D010936:Plant Extracts; C115642:punicalagin