Antifungal activity of methanolic and aqueous extracts of Lantana Camara L. against Candida Albicans

Abstract

Out of a large number of plant species used for treating and curing various ailments, there are certain species which are not used widely but occur immensely in major parts of Uganda. Folklore claims also support the uses of such species for treating and curing various diseases. In the present study one of such species, Lantana camara (L. camara) was selected to investigate the in vitro antifungal activities of the methanolic and aqueous extracts of the selected L. camara against C. albicans. Aim: The study was conducted to assess the antifungal activity of the extracts of Lantana camara, a traditional plant commonly used for medicinal purposes among local communities in different parts of the world, against Candida albicans which is a common etiological agent of fungal skin infections. Methods: The antifungal activity of the crude methanolic and aqueous extracts were tested using agar-well diffusion technique on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar media. Data was analyzed using GraphPad prism and one way-ANOVA. The methanolic extracts of L. camara generally showed greater inhibitory properties on Candida albicans with a mean diameter of zone of inhibition of 14.0±2mm compared to the aqueous L. camara extracts with a mean diameter of zone of inhibition of 11.0±2mm. The methanolic extracts of L. camara had more antifungal activity compared to aqueous L. camara extracts on C. albicans with a P-value 0.0035 at 95% level of confidence. Conclusion: L. camara extracts possessed antifungal activity against C. albicans with the methanolic extract showing greater activity compared to the aqueous extract.