IN VITRO ANTI-CANDIDA ACTIVITIES OF SALSOLA RIGIDA AND PROSOPIS FARCTA

Introduction: Traditional medicine is a potential source of new antifungal with worldwide. Salsola rigida is an Iranian traditional herbal medicine that it is useful for several diseases such as hypertension and leprosy. Prosopis farcta is another native species of arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. It is used for the treatment of stomach ulcers, abortion, dysentery, larynx rheumatism inflammation, cardiac pain, breath shortness and also has anti-inflammatory effect in folklore medicine. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess in vitro activities of ethanolic extracts of S. rigida and P. farcta against several clinical isolates of Candida species. Materials and Methods: The aerial parts of S. rigida and the fruits of P. farcta were extracted using 85% ethanol for 72h at a room temperature. The extracts were filtered using Whatman filter papers and dried at ambient. A serial dilutions of both extracts from 3.12-400 mg/ml were prepared in dimethyl sulphoxide. In the present study agar well diffusion method was used for detection minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of several isolates of various Candida species. Results: It was found that the ethanolic extracts from the aerial parts of S. rigida and P. farcta fruits were exhibited anti-Candida activity by ranges of inhibition zones and MIC by ranges of 25-400 mg/ml. The mean MICs for all tested Candida were 149.4 mg/ml and 120.6 mg/ml for S. rigida and P. farcta, respectively.Conclusion: Our result shows that both plants have antifungal activity potential and can be as a suitable source for the treatment of fungal disease. It is the worth of further investigations in order to identify the active compounds and their clinical applications for the treatment of candidiasis.

Salsola Rigida, Prosopis Farcta, Candida Albicans, Ethanolic Extract.