Screening of Venda medicinal plants for antifungal activity against Candida albicans

Abstract

Crude methanol and water extracts of 32 plant species, used for the treatment of infectious diseases in Venda, were screened for in vitro activity against Candida albicans standard strain (ATCC 10231) and five clinical isolates. Water extracts of 16 plant species and methanol extracts of 11 plant species inhibited candidiasis growth. Inhibition at < 1 mg/ml, against the C. albicans strains tested, was observed for the methanol extracts of Combretum molle (root), Piper capense (bark), Solanum aculeastrum (fruits), Syzygium cordatum (bark) and Zanthoxylum davyi (bark) as well as the aqueous bark extract of Afzelia quanzensis and root extract of Tabernaemontana elegans. These results implicate that the extracts contain compounds with therapeutic potential against C. albicans.