Antifungal activity of “Mahogany” ( Khaya senegalensis ) leaf extract against some selected fungi

Abstract

Effect of leaf aqueous extracts of Khaya senegalensis were determined on disease causing fungi. This work aimed to determine the antifungal effect of Khaya senegalensis leaf extract on the growth of some selected fungi. In this study, the phytopathogenic fungi isolated from the spoiled bread are identified based on morphological and cultural characters. The identification of the fungi was confirmed by pathogenicity tests, the organisms were found to be Mucor spp. and Rhizopus spp. Leaf aqueous extracts of different concentrations (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg mL-1) of Khaya senegalensis were added to the growth media prior to inoculation. The aqueous extracts have inhibited the mycelial growth of the fungi, and this effect gradually increased with an increase in the concentration. It could be emphatically concluded that the tested plant extract can effectively control fungi affecting. This makes it potential biofungicide for the management of fungi associated with bread as it is cheap and environmentally safe due to their fungicidal and fungitoxic ability.