Antidermatophytic activity of Solanum indicum L. from North East India

Chloroform, Methanol and Water extract of Solanum indicum Linn., a widely used food and medicinal plant of Assam, India was investigated for its in vitro antifungal activity against five different dermatophytic fungi viz., Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton tonsurans, Microsporum gypseum and Microsporum fulvum. Agar well diffusion method was used to determine the inhibition zone of the different extracts of the plant. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the extracts was determined by broth dilution method. When compared, the Chloroform extract of the plant was found to be highly active against all the tested fungi followed by the methanol extract. The water extract was found completely inactive against T. mentagrophytes and T. rubrum while it showed very low activity against M. gypseum, T. tonsurans and M. fulvum at the tested concentration. The results suggest that the leaves of S. indicum may possess some non polar antifungal compounds that can be used for treating dermatophytosis.