Antifungal activity of Erigeron floribundus (Asteraceae) from Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa

FH Tra Bi.^1*, MW Koné ¹, NF Kouamé²

¹ UFR Sciences de la Nature, Université d’Abobo-Adjamé, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02,Côte d’Ivoire. ² UFR Biosciences, Université de Cocody-Abidjan, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Côte d’Ivoire

Correspondence: E-mail: trabi_fezan@hotmail.com   Tel : (+225) 06 45 30  

Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, June 2008; 7(2): 975-979

Abstract

Purpose: Erigeron floribundus is a reputed medicinal plant used in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa for the treatment of skin disorders.  The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of this plant against fungi from human origin.    

Method: Dichloromethane, methanol 80% and aqueous extracts from the leaves with stem were tested for their antifungal activity against 7 strains of dermatophytes (Epidermophyton floccosum, Microsporum canis, M. gypseum, M. langeronii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, T. soudanense) and one strain of the filamentous fungus, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis. The assays were performed using the agar dilution method at serial concentrations ranging from 2 to 0.06 mg/ml.

Result: Only the dichloromethane extract exhibited an activity against Microsporum canis and a broad spectrum of good antifungal activity against all the remaining fungi tested.

Conclusion: To the best our knowledge, this is the first report of the antifungal activity of Erigeron floribundus against a wide range of dermatophytes, including Microsporum langeronii and Trichophyton soudanense, the most frequent dermatophytes in Côte d’Ivoire. E. floribundus might be potential sources for improved traditional medicines or new antidermatophyte agents for the treatment of dermatomycoses.

Keywords: Erigeron floribundus, dermatophytes, antifungal activity, Côte d’Ivoire.