DETERMINATION OF ANTI-FUNGAL PROPERTIES OF THE AFRICAN MISTLETOE SPECIES: Loranthus micranthus L

The anti-fungal activity of the leaves of African mistletoe plant used in traditional and folkloric medicine was studied using standard procedures. The methanolic extracts of mistletoe leaves harvested from three different host trees {Kola acuminata, Irvingia gabonensis and Persea americana} were tested against clinical isolates of some common pathogenic fungi {Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger} using the agar diffusion method. The results obtained indicate that all the test extracts had some activities against the microorganisms. When compared with standard antifungal agent {Ketoconazole} as positive control, none of the extracts showed any significant activity {P < 0.05} against the test micro organisms. All the extracts exhibited better activities towards Aspergillus than against Candida. There were, however, slight variations in the level of activities as shown by the mistletoe leaf extracts from the different hosts towards both fungi. These experimental data show that the folkloric use of mistletoe pastes in the treatment of fungal infections may not be scientifically founded. UKWUEZE, S. E Department of pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry,Faculty of pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt,Port Harcourt,