Antifungal activity of Euphorbia antiquorum L. latex an in vitro study

Abstract

Medicinal plants are important source of potentially useful structures for the development of novel chemotherapeutic agents. The present study was aimed to evaluate the antifungal effect of methanolic latex extract on some human pathogenic fungi. The inhibitory effect of the methanolic extract of Euphorbia antiquorum L. was tested against Candida albicans, Candida cruzi, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapolisis and Aspergillus sps using disc diffusion method. The methanolic extract of Euphorbia antiquorum L was subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening for the presence of bioactive ingrediants. The latex extract showed the presence of many biologically active molecules such as alkaloids, cynogenic glycosides, phenols, flavonoids and terpenoids. The latex extract shows significant zone of inhibition in dose dependent manner. This study scientifically supports the usage of latex as a remedy for various superfial fungal infections in traditional medicine.