Antifungal Activity of Rhinacantus Nasutus Extract against Malassezia sp. - ฤทธิ์ในการต้านเชื้อราของสารสกัดทองพันชั่ง (Rhinacanthus nasutus) ที่มีต่อ Malassezia sp.

Abstract

              Rhinacantus nasutus is the potential medicinal plant indicated in traditional Thai medicine book for effectively treating tinea and ring worm. Several previous reports reveal that Rhinacantus nasutus extract inhibit the growth of fungus causing ring worm disease. However, the effectiveness of this extract on fungus causing tinea has not been identified. This study was to evaluate the efficacy of R. nasutus extract for inhibiting the growth of tinea fungus particularly Malassezia furfur and Malassezia globosa. The antifungal activity of R. nasutus extract was measured by using disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods. The result indicated that R. nasutus extract presented remarkably antifungal effect on Malassezia sp. The MIC50 of R. nasutus extract for Malassezia furfur and Malassezia globosa were 25 mg/ml. The study also revealed that the antifungal activity of R. nasutus extract depended upon its water solubility. Therefore, the result suggests that Rhinacantus nasutus is a promising alternative treatment for skin disease induced by fungal infection.

Key words: Rhinacanthus nasutus, Tinea, Malassezia sp., Rhinacanthin