Evaluation of Anticandidal Potential of Some Folklore Plants

The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential anticandidal activity of ethanolic extracts of some ethnobotanically important higher plants against Candida species. Plants crude extracts were prepared and their anticandidal activity was evaluated. Minimum inhibitory value was evaluated for the most promising plant extracts and their mode of action was studied using scanning electron microscopy method. The ethanolic extracts of 26 plants were evaluated for anticandidal activity against four human pathogenic yeast species— Candida albicans , C. glabrata , C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis . The potential anticandidal activity was observed in ethanolic extract of Berberis aristata, Costus speciosus and Plumbago zeylanica . The SEM analysis showed that, unlike control cells representing normal oval shape with smooth surface, treatment of C. albicans with B. aristata, C. speciosus and P. zeylanica significantly affected the external morphology due to cell deformation, shrinking, cracks on cell surface. These three plants may serve as leads in the development of potential anticandidal agents.