Antifungal activity of Terminalia chebula and Terminalia catappa on two dermatophytes

Abstract

Tinea corporis is a superficial fungal infection of the keratinized epithelial layer, presenting as erythematous scaling patches with central clearing, which is caused by tiny fungi called dermatophytes. The present study was to evaluate in vitro fungicidal activity of lyophilized aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Terminalia chebula and T. catappa on Tinea corporis. The skin scraping samples were collected from 15 patients suffering from Tinea corporis reported to Govt. Stanley Hospital, Chennai. Of these 15 samples, only 12 exhibited growth in in vitro culturing. Out of the 12 samples, Trichophyton rubrum was isolated from 8 patients and T. mentagrophytes was isolated from 4 patients. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the lyophilized aqueous and ethanolic extracts was determined by micro-dilution method. Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) of the extracts was determined by Recovery plate method. The effect was compared with standard drugs (itraconazole, fluconazole and ketoconazole) by determining MIC and MFC. The MFCs of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of T.  chebula on T. mentagrophytes and T. rubrum were 12.5 µg/ml and 6.25 µg/ml, respectively, whereas the MFC of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of T. catappa was evaluated as 12.5 µg/ml for T. mentagrophytes and 6.25 µg/ml for T. rubrum. The efficacy of lyophilized extracts of Terminalia species was nearly equal to that of the standard antifungal drugs.