Article · Volume 1, Issue 6 · pp. 387–391

Antifungal activity of Tabernaemontana stapfiana Britten (Apocynaceae) organic extracts

E.K. Ruttoh¹, C. Bii², P.K. Tarus³, A. Machocho⁴, L.K. Karimi⁵, P. Okemo⁶

¹aKenya National Public Health Laboratory Services, P.O. Box 20176, 00100 GPO, Nairobi, Kenya;
²bCenter for Microbiology, Research Kenya Medical Research Institute, P.O. Box 2632, 00202, Nairobi, Kenya;
³cDepartment of Physical Science, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 190, 50100 Kakamega, Kenya;
⁴dChemistry Department
⁵eDepartment of Pharmacy and Complementary Medicine
⁶fDepartment of Plant and Microbial Sciences, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 43844, 00100 GPO, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The methanol and successive (hexane, dichlroromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol) extracts of leaves, fruits, root and stem barks of Tabernaemontana stapfiana Britten were investigated for antifungal activity against four fungi; Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The extracts of the different plant parts showed varied activities against the tested fungi with the stem and root barks showing significant antifungal activities. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of methanol and sequential extracts ranged between 31.25 and 8000 μg/ml while the minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) ranged between 125 and 8000 μg/ml. Among the test microorganisms, Candida albicans was the most susceptible with the lowest MIC of 31.25 μg/ml followed by Cryptococcus neoformans with an MIC of 62.25 μg/ml. These results show that it is possible to find antifungal compounds in the extracts of T. stapfiana.

Keywords: Tabernaemontana stapfiana Britten; Apocynaceae; Antifungal activity; Minimum inhibitory concentration; Minimum fungicidal concentration

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