ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY AND PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF DESMODIUM GANGETICUM (L.) DC.: AN ECONOMIC IMPORTANT PLANT OF NARAYANPUR, BASTAR, CHHATTISGARH

Life sciences

In the present investigation preliminary phytochemical screening and antifungal activity of petroleum ether, chloroform, acetone and aqueous leaf extracts of Desmodium gangeticum (L.) DC. was examined. Antifungal activity against six pathogenic fungal strains viz., Microsporum gypseum (MTCC NO 4524), Trichoderma viride (MTCC NO 793), Aspergillus niger (MTCC NO 281), Curvularia lunata (NCFT), Cladosporium oxysporum (NCFT), Candida albicans was performed by using Poison food technique. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, reducing sugar, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, flavonoids, fixed oils and anthraquinone whereas cardiac glycoside was absent in all four solvent extracts. One-way ANOVA analysis of antifungal activity showed significant difference of (p≤0.05). Result revealed in acetone leaf extracts of D. gangeticum showed maximum growth inhibition % at 1000µl conc. on A. niger (91.55 ± 0.44) which was more than the value of the standard antibiotics Amphotericine- B (87.55 ± 1.77) followed by acetone leaf extracts showed maximum growth inhibition % at 1000µl conc. on T. viride (87.11 ± 0.44) which was nearest to the value of the standard antibiotics Amphotericine- B (88.89 ± 0.44), chloroform leaf extracts showed maximum growth inhibition % at 1000µl conc. on C. oxysporum (84.25 ± 4.62) which was more than the value of the standard antibiotics Amphotericine- B (82.18 ± 1.51), chloroform leaf extracts showed maximum growth inhibition % at 1000µl conc. on C. lunata (70.7 ± 8.26) which was nearest to the value of the standard antibiotics Amphotericine- B (84.41 ± 0.53), acetone leaf extracts showed maximum growth inhibition % at 1000µl conc. on M. gypseum (68.42 ± 0) which was nearest to the value of the standard antibiotics Amphotericine- B (71.93 ± 1.75), aqueous leaf extracts showed maximum growth inhibition % at 1000µl conc. against C. albicans (62.96 ± 1.85) which was nearest to the value of the standard antibiotics Amphotericine- B (72.22 ± 0). Three-way ANOVA analysis showed no significant difference of (p≤0.01) against fungal strains. Therefore, D. gangeticum (L.) DC. can be used as a source of new antifungal agent and as a source of new drug as it contain no. of bioactive phytocompounds which have been used as a source of medicine long back with no side effect and an ecofriendly mode of treatment.

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