Plant derived antifungals- trends and potential applications in veterinary medicine: A mini-review

Due to increasing resistance of fungi against conventional drugs, as well as the observable side effects of the already limited numbers of antifungals commonly used in veterinary practice, the fungal infections among animals, whether superficial or systemic, often pose substantial management problems and are still a major concern. In this regard, the alternative ‘herbal formulations’ have become a renewed interest. Medicinal plants are in fact an integral part of ethnoveterinary medicine and the practice is rather common in Asian countries, including China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Development in information technology has facilitated an explosion in the range and content of electronic information concerning medicinal plants as a re-emergent health aid for both animals and humans. It has been estimated that more than 100,000 plants/plant extracts have been assayed for their pharmacological properties. Based on the current available data and the recently proposed IC50 < 100 g/ml or MIC < 500 g/ml as a cut-off value if the extracts would possess any promising antifungal effect, the potential candidates are summarized with their reported major constituents. The indigenous plants with strong antifungal activity abundantly found in certain regions, the example of their herbal products and the efficacy testing are also presented.