Short reportAntifungal activity of Rubia tinctorum, Rhamnus frangula and Caloplaca cerina
Section snippets
Plants
Rubia tinctorum L. (Rubiaceae) roots and Rhamnus frangula L. (Rhamnaceae) bark and the lichen Caloplaca cerina(Teloschistaceae), collected on Goc Mountain in May 2002, were identified in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Kragujevac, Serbia and Montenegro.
Uses in traditional medicine and other reported activities
R. frangula as a laxative and also shown to have cathartic, depurative and diuretic activity [1], [2]. R. tinctorum as diuretic and stone inhibitor and endowed with genotoxic activity [3]. No reports for C. cerina.
Previously isolated classes of constituents
R. tinctorum: anthraquinones and iridoids [4], [5]. R. frangula: anthraquinones, flavonoids and tannins [6], [7]. C. cerina: anthraquinones [8].
Tested material
Methanol extracts, parietin, alizarin and emodin.
Studied activity
Antifungal activity by disk diffusion method [9].
Used microorganisms
Listed in Table 2 and obtained from Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Kragujevac in Kragujevac.
Results
Reported in Table 1 (phytochemical screening) and Table 2 (antifungal activity).
Conclusion
The methanol extracts were significantly active against the fungi tested. All three extracts contain anthraquinone derivatives as major secondary metabolites. However, the major isolated anthraquinone aglycones from the plants and lichen were less active against fungi than the corresponding extracts. Among the tested material, the best activity was shown by the lichen extract against T. viride while in the case of metabolites, emodin exhibited the greatest activity against A. alternata.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge financial support by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Development of Serbia (Grant No. 0295 and No. 1740).
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