Two medicinal plants, Berberis lyceum and Rumex obtusifolius, were screened for the presence of various phytochemicals and for their antifungal activity. The phytochemical tests carried out in the present study demonstrated the presence of phenols, alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, quinones and terpenoids in the plant extracts. Therefore, ethanolic and aqueous extracts of these medicinal plants were evaluated for their antifungal activity against Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium herbarum and Trichothecium roseum, using the agar well diffusion method. All the plant extracts at different concentrations showed significant antifungal activity against the tested fungi. Of the two plant extracts, B. lyceum showed stronger antifungal activity than R. obtusifolius. Ethanolic extracts of both plants showed stronger mycelial growth inhibition than aqueous extracts. The ethanolic extracts of B. lyceum showed the strongest antifungal activity against Penicillium chrysogenum (inhibition zone diameter of 41 mm) followed by the ethanolic extracts of R. obtusifolius against P. chrysogenum (inhibition zone diameter 39 mm). Hence, it is concluded that these medicinal plants have a broad-spectrum antifungal activity and are a potential alternative to reduce various fungal pathogens.
Parveen S., Wani A. H., Bhat M. Y., Pala S. A. (2018): Comparative study of the antimycotic activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Berberis lyceum and Rumex obtusifolius against selected rot fungi. – Czech Mycology 70(1): 47–56.
