Antifungal activity of ethanolic extracts of three plants used in popular medicine in Argentina.

DAVICINO, ROBERTO; CASALI, YOLANDA; MICALIZZI, BLAS

Merlo (San Luis)

Congreso; XXII Reunión Científica de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo.; 2004

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

This work evaluated the antifungal activity of ethanolic extracts (Ee) of Ganaphalitum gaudichaudianum D.C (marcela), Larrea divaricata Cav. (jarilla) and Baccharis trimera (carqueja). Dry material (5 g) was added to 100 ml of 96 % etanol. After 48 h the extract was dried, weighed and dissolved in ethanol and tested against Aspergillus niger, Penicilium. notatum, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cereviceae. They were kept at 4º C in test tubes containing glucose agar Sabouraud. C. albicans and S. cereviceae cultures of 24 h and 8-days cultures of A. niger and P. notatum incubated at 28º C were used. Plates with different concentrations of Ee were inoculated with each species (106 yeast or conidias/ml) and were incubated for 4 days. Growth inhibition was evaluated 24 h later for C. albicans and S. cereviceae and 96 h later for A. niger and P. notatum. Growth of S. cereviceae was inhibited by all Ee used. No significant inhibition was observed for A. niger and P. notatum by any extract. C. albicans growth was inhibited by jarilla.. Differents grades of growth inhibition were observed on C. albicans (20 mg/ml) and S. cereviceae (2.5 mg/ml) using Ee of jarilla. Ee of marcela and carqueja only inhibited S. cereviceae growth. Our results showed that fungal growth was more effectively inhibited by Ee of jarilla.