Purpose: To investigate the antifungal activities of the individual as well as the combined hydroalcohol
leaf and root extracts of endemic
Hypericum havvae
A. Guner (Hyperiaceae).
Methods: Each dry powdered plant material (20 g) was soaked in 150 ml of aqueous ethanol (50: 50
%v/v) until complete saturation of the plant material. After the extracts were filtered and evaporated, the
antifungal activity of the extracts was tested against medical yeast,
Candida (
C. albicans ATCC 10231,
C. tropicalis
ATCC 13808,
C. guilliermondii
ATCC 6260) and
Cryptococcus (
C. neoformans
ATCC
90112 and
C. laurentii 34142) species by visual broth microdilution method. Minimum inhibitory
concentration (MIC) of the extract was derived from the results. Ketoconazole was used as the
reference standard.
Results: MIC values ranged from 3.12 to 25.00 mg/ml. The extracts exhibited strong antifungal effect
against the yeast cultures but the combination of the plant extracts (leaf + root) possessed stronger
antifungal potency against
Candida albicans
and
Cryptococcus laurentii
, with the same MIC value of
1.56 mg/ml.
Conclusion: Our findings support the use of
Hypericum havvae in traditional medicine for the treatment
of fungal infections, especially Candidiasis.
