The anti-dermatophyte activity of Allium hirtifolium Boiss aqueous extract

In an attempt at demonstrating the efficacy of Allium hirtifolium aqueous extract in control of skin fungal infections as traditional use, we evaluated the anti-dermatophyte activities of A. hirtifolium aqueous extract from bulbs and of ketoconazole against Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, M. gypseum, Trichophyton schoenleinii and Trichophyton verrucosum var. album by food poisoning technique, disc diffusion and micro broth dilution assays. The anti-fungal activity of A. hirtifolium was excellent when it was compared with ketoconazole. The anti-fungal evaluation by food poisoning method showed that A. hirtifolium extract inhibited the growth of dermatophytes dose-dependently. The inhibition zone diameter (IZ) of A. hirtifolium extract (15 μg/disc) was in the range of 28.8 ± 0.31 to 67.7 ± 1.5mm, while ketoconazole (15 μg/disc) had the IZ lower than 13mm. The MIC and MFC values of A. hirtifolium extract were in the range of 0.2-1.7 and 0.4-0.7 μg/mL; respectively. Therefore, A. hirtifolium extract showed a strong anti-fungal activity against human and animal dermatophytes.