Abstract

The antifugal activities of aqueous extract of Calotropics procera was determined against Epidermophyton flocosum and Tricophyton gypseum using agar diffusion techniques. The crude extract of C. procera showed activity on E. flocosum and T. gypseum at 4.0 mg/ml. The result of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 0.5 and 0.9 mg/ml and that of minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) was 2.0 and 4.0 mg/ml, respectively. The result of the Ames test indicated that the crude extract is not mutagenic. Phytochemical screening of the crude extract revealed the presence of saponin, tannins, sequiterpene and alkaloids. The results of the study suggest that C. procera stem could be a potential source of chemotherapeutic drugs for the treatment of tinea associated with E. flocosum andT. gypseum.

Key words: Calotropis procera, Epidermophyton flocosum, Trichophyton gypseum, mutagencity.