Antifungal activities of fifteen Southern African medicinal plants against five Fusarium species

摘要

In the present study, 35 extracts from 15 different medicinal plants traditionally used in the Venda region for the treatment of fungal related ailments were tested for antifungal activities against five?Fusarium?spp. including?Fusarium?oxysporum,?Fusarium?verticillioides,Fusarium?graminearum,?Fusarium?nygamai?and?Fusarium?proliferatum?using the hole plate diffusion method. The microdilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum fungicidal concentration. Growth inhibition assay was conducted using an agar diffusion method. Out of the 35 extracts tested, 31 (88%) were active against at least one of the five?Fusarium?spp. However extracts of?Warburgia salutaris,?Rhoicissus tridentata,?Syzygium cordatum,?Ximenia?caffra?and?Terminalia sericea?gave zone of inhibition ranging from 10 to 20 mm with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 3.75 to 0.06 mg/ml.?Extracts from?W. salutaris?bark in hexane?and?Terminalia sericea?bark in acetone?were fungicidal to at least one of theFusarium?spp. tested at concentrations between 0.06 and 7.5 mg/ml. The present study has revealed the importance of these medicinal plants in the possible control of fungal diseases caused by the tested?Fusarium?spp. and further justifies the use of these medicinal plants by the local populations. Further studies are needed to identify the active components of these plants that could be used as lead compounds in the development of new antifungal agents.