Author(s):

Mourice Victor Nyangabo Mbunde, Faith Mabiki, Ester Innocent and Pher G Andersson

Abstract: This study investigated the antifungal activities of single and combined extracts of traditionally used Tanzanian medicinal plants against the selected fungal pathogens. Plants samples were collected from Southern regions of Tanzania, dried, ground and extracted with petroleum ether, dichloromethane and ethanol. Broth micro dilution method was used to determine minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) while Fractional inhibitory concentrations (FIC) index was calculated from MICs of combined extracts to determine the effect of interactions. A total of sixteen medicinal plants were evaluated for antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus niger. Strong antifungal activity was demonstrated by Bidens pilosa (MIC value 0.078-0.313 mg/ml), Mucuna stans (MIC value 0.117-0.313 mg/ml), Parinari curatellifolia (MIC value 0.039-0.469 mg/ml), Solanum incanum (MIC value 0.039-0.469 mg/ml), Strychnos spinosa (MIC value 0.313-0.469 mg/ml), Leonotis nepetifolia (MIC value 0.156-0.313 mg/ml) and Diospyros usambarensis (MIC value 0.059 mg/ml). FIC analysis indicated that, most of the combinations had additive effect while only the combination between Bidens pilosa and Leonotis nepetifolia demonstrated synergistic interaction against Candida albicans pathogen. This study demonstrated the importance of using combined plant-based antifungal therapy to increase efficacy. Findings also revealed plants potential candidates for drug discovery studies.

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