Antifungal and antioxidant activity of stem bark extracts of Ficus religiosa L.

Abstract

Aspergillus niger is a major cause of black moulds, stem and root rots of several plant species. These diseases are mainly controlled by using agrichemicals. However, these chemicals have adverse effects on environment. To avoid the use of synthetic toxic chemicals, researchers are focusing on plant derived natural products which can inhibit the growth of these pathogens. The present study is based on evaluating different solvent fractions of stem bark of Ficus religiosa L. for antifungal activity against A. niger at 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/mL concentrations using agar dilution method. Antioxidant potential of the extracts was also determined by DPPH radical scavenging assay. The plant showed significant antifungal activity with highest activity observed for the n-butanol fraction showing 66 to 77.5% inhibition of fungal growth at the tested concentrations. Least active was the ethyl acetate fraction with % inhibition ranging from 47.5% to 62.5% at the tested concentrations. The extracts also showed significant antioxidant activity with highest activity of 91.71% observed for dichloromethane fraction. Phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of glycosides, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, triterpenes, sterols and phenols in the extracts. The study concluded that the stem bark of F. religiosa can be a good source of antifungal compounds with antioxidant activity.