Evaluation of in vitro antifungal activity of medicinal plants against phytopathogenic fungi.

摘要

Fourteen medicinal plants belonging to 13 families were collected and extracted with petroleum ether (PE), chloroform, methanol and water to yield 60 crude extracts. Using agar diffusion method, these extracts were evaluated for antifungal activity on the growth of five phytopathogenic fungi. Among all the extracts tested, PE, chloroform and methanol extracts of Piper betle L. and PE and chloroform extracts of Allamanda cathartica exhibited promising antifungal activity. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the above promising extracts were determined using broth dilution technique and observed that chloroform extract of P. betle L. exhibited the least MIC value ranging from 280 to 1130 micro g ml-1. In this study, we report chloroform extract of P. betle L. to be thermally stable even when steam sterilised for the first time and that it could be stored at 4 degrees C with almost no change in its activity for a period of 180 days.