title: In vitro antifungal activity of some traditional Persian medicinal plants on pathogenic fungi.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the antifungal activities of the extracts and sub-fractions of Phlomis olivieri, Verbascum speciosum, Sambucus ebulus and Erigeron hyrcanicus, four Persian medicinal plants used in Iranian folk medicine.
  
  
  METHODS
  Evaluation of the antifungal activity was performed on the clinical isolates of pathogenic fungi including Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, T. verrucosum, Microsporum canis, M. gypseum and Epidermophyton floccosum, and the yeast Candida albicans. The susceptibility tests were done by agar well diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of active extracts and sub-fractions were measured using method of National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only P. olivieri sub-fractions were found to have fungicidal activity among the other investigated plants. The MIC and MFC was found to be high in petroleum ether, chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions (100 and 200 mg/mL) against the studied pathogenic fungi and the yeast Candida albicans. P. olivieri sub-fractions significantly inhibited the growth of all pathogenic fungi and the yeast studied.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  If the antifungal activity of P. olivieri is confirmed by in vivo studies and if the responsible compound (s) is isolated and identified, it could be a good remedy for mycotic infections.
authors.affiliation: Young Researchers and Elite Club, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. asgarpanah@iaups.ac.ir.|Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. asgarpanah@iaups.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Jinous
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Asgarpanah
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyyed Jamal
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Kiana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Askari
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D019071:Persia; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Erigeron hyrcanicus; Phlomis olivieri; Sambucus ebulus; Verbascum speciosum; antifungal activity