Antidermatophytic Activity of Pogostemon parviflorus Benth

In the developing countries of tropical regions, mycotic infections are common cause of skin diseases.The use of medicinal plants in the treatment of skin diseases including mycotic infections is an age-old practice in many parts of the world. The drugs used against dermatophytosis have several side effects, but limited efficacy. There is therefore a distinct need for discovery of new, safer and more effective antifungal agents. Medicinal plants used in traditional folk medicine may help us to overcome the growing problem of resistance to antifungal drugs and also their relative toxicity. In this study, in vitro antifungal activity of Pogostemon parviflorus leaf extracts were evaluated against three different genera of dermatophytes including Microsporum, Trichophyton and Epidermophyton, using the agar dilution method. Pogostemon parviflorus Benth. belongs to Labiatae family. The ethanolic extract of Pogostemon parviflorus leaf inhibited the growth of tested dermatophytes at different concentrations. The ethanolic extract of Pogostemon parviflorus leaf completely prevented the growth of tested dermatophytic species, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values between 2.5-10 mg/mL. The minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values of this plant were also in the range of 2.5-10 mg/mL. Results of phytochemical screening tests indicated that the leaf of Pogostemon parviflorus contained saponins, reducing sugars, tannins, phenols and proteins, but it did not have any glycosides, anthraquinones, alkaloids or flavonoids. Results of High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) studies indicated that the ethyl acetate extract of Pogostemon parviflorus leaves included triterpenes, as 10 and 14 peaks of ultra violet (UV) absorption were observed in 254 nm and 366 nm, respectively. Hence, triterpenes may be responsible for antidermatophytic activity of this plant.