Antifungal activity of aqueous extract of Ilex paraguariensis against Malassezia furfur.

ROSANA FILIP; ROBERTO DAVICINO; CLAUDIA ANESINI

PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH

JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD

Lugar: Malden; Año: 2010 vol. 24 p. 715 - 719

0951-418X

Malassezia furfur is a lipodependent, dimorphic and saprophyte fungus which causes pityriasis versicolor,dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis in humans. The drugs available to treat this fungal infection are few. Thesedrugs are highly toxic and are costly when used in prolonged treatments. For these reasons, it is necessary tofind new compounds to treat these infections. Ilex paraguariensis St Hilaire is a plant that grows in Argentina,Brazil and Paraguay. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the aqueous extract of Ilex paraguariensison the growth of M. furfur. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed to identifyand isolate compounds of I. paraguariensis and the agar-well diffusion method was used to assess the antifungalactivity of the extract. The fungicidal/fungistatic effect was evaluated by the modified Thompson assay. Theresults demonstrated that the aqueous extract of Ilex paraguariensis (1000 mg/ml) possesses inhibitory activityagainst M. furfur. This antimalassezial activity was equivalent to 2.7 μg/ml of ketoconazole. Therefore, thetopical use of Ilex paraguariensis extract as alternative antifungal agent can be suggested.