Evaluation of the biological activity and antifungal potential of Piper betle L. and Azadirachta indica L. leaf extracts against Trichophyton rubrum

Abstract

The study was carried out to evaluate the antifungal activity of betel leaf extract (LT-Et96) and neem leaf extract (LNEt96) against Trichophyton rubrum using ethanol solvent. The total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method while the total flavonoid content (TFC) was measured using the aluminum chloride method. DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging assay was used to estimate the antioxidant activity. Antifungal activity was evaluated using the agar diffusion method, with determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC). The results revealed that the TPC and TFC values of LT-Et96 were 567.29±6.81 mg GAE/g and 21.59±0.98 mg QE/g, respectively, whereas those of LN-Et96 were 161.79±5.12 mg GAE/g and 21.24±1.15 mg QE/g, respectively. The concentration for neutralising 50% of DPPH free radicals was 1.005±0.527 mg/ml for LT-Et96 and 10.301±2.041 mg/ml for LN-Et96. The MIC values of LT-Et96 and LN-Et96 were 1 and 10 mg/ml, respectively. The MFC values at 48 hours were 4 mg/ml for LT-Et96 and 40 mg/ml for LN-Et96. The combined extracts exhibited 100% antifungal efficacy across all treatments containing LT-Et96 at a concentration of 1 mg/ml in combination with various concentrations of LN-Et96. The results indicated the potential application of these extracts in the development of natural products for the treatment and prevention of scalp fungal infections.