Antifungal Activities of Curry Leaf (Murraya Koengii) Extract on Some Selected Fungi

Abstract

Studies on the antifungal activity of aqueous and organic extracts of Murraya koeingii (curry leaf) on fungi was undertaken using Candida albicans, Penicillium funiculosum, Penicillium camemberti, Aspergillus niger as test organisms. Aqueous and organic extracts of the plants were obtained using standard techniques. The extracts were Cold aqueous extract (CAE), hot aqueous extract (HAE) and Ethanol extract (EE). Sensitivity test was carried out using Agar Well Diffusion Method; the set up was incubated at 37⁰c for 24 hours. Development of zones of inhibition was observed and measured. This showed that some of the tested extracts demonstrated antifungal activities against the test organisms. Comparison of the extracts showed that Ethanol aqueous extract (EE) of Murraya koengii had high activity against all test organisms. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of Cold, Hot and Ethanol extracts of Murraya koenigii was 20g/ml for all the test organisms.Since the Cold and Hot extracts did not demonstrate high activity on the test organism, it could be concluded that the activity demonstrated by both Cold and Hot aqueous extract was due to the effect of the extracts. These results indicate that Murraya koengii can be used as an antifungal agent in the treatment of infections.

Keywords: antifungal, fungi, murraya koeingii (curry leaf), organisms, organic extract