ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF Chlorophytum laxum (R. Br) CRUDE EXTRACT AGAINST Tinea capitis ISOLATED FROM PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN ZARIA, KADUNA STATE

Abstract

Resistance to potent antibiotics used in hospitals and clinics by disease-causing organisms is currently among the major public health concerns, therefore necessitating the search for alternative antimicrobial agents. This study was conducted to determine the antifungal activity of Chlorophytum laxum crude extract against Tinea capitis isolated from primary school pupils in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The plant materials were collected from the Botanical Garden, Biological Sciences Department, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (main campus). The whole plant was air-dried, ground into powder and extracted using methanol by maceration method.  Differential fractionation of the methanolic extract of C. laxum in different solvents was carried out using 30g of the extracted powder and partitioned sequentially using hexane, ethyl acetate and n-butanol respectively. The clinical samples (scalp scrapings and hair) were collected using sterile surgical blade; inoculated onto prepared SDA and subcultured, at regular intervals. The fungi were identified based on their macroscopic and microscopic characteristics.   The antifungal activity of extract fractions was evaluated using poisoned-food technique to determine the effect of different extracts (2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20%) on the growth of fungal species.   GC/MS analysis identified Dimethyl sulfone, 4-methylvaleric acid,1-Propanol, and 5H-tetrazol-5-amine as probable bioactive compounds with antifungal properties in the fractions. The crude methanolic extract exhibited antifungal activity on the test organism, and the highest inhibitory effect was observed at the 20% concentration of the extract against the test organisms (30.00 ± 6.11 mm for Microsporum ferrugineum, 37.33 ± 1.20 mm for Trichophyton soudanense and 60.33 ± 0.88 mm for Trichophyton tonsurans respectively. The highest antifungal activities in Microsporum ferrugineum, Trichophyton soudanense, and Trichophyton tonsurans were observed at the 20% concentration regardless of the fraction method. The highest mean values of 78.00 ±5 .51 mm, 80.00 ± 3.3.51 mm and 85.00 ± 2.65 mm were observed at 20% concentration of aqueous fractions. The findings of this study showed that Chlorophytum laxum could be a good candidate for use in the management of tinea capitis, although further evaluation needs to be carried out in other to fully validate ITSS traditional usage.