Antifungal activity of acacia catechu seed extract- an in vitro study

An antifungal is an agent that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger etc. Acacia catechu, also commonly called Mimosa catechu, is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to 15 m (50 ft) in height. Acacia catechu is traditionally used for curing many diseases and commonly for mother and child healthcare. Taxifolin is the main constituent of Acacia catechu which possesses antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. On sterile plates containing Sabouraud dextrose agar, the fungal cultures were swabbed. Wells of 6 mm diameter were bored in each plate. The wells were filled with varying concentrations of the sample. The plates were incubated at 28°C for 72 h for evaluation. The diameter of inhibition zones formed around the wells was measured in millimeters. The study was performed in duplicates for all the samples. The study shows that acacia catechu seed extract is highly effective in showing the antifungal activity against fungal pathogens Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans (2.0 mg/ml concentration showed 13.5 mm of zone of inhibition in Candida albicans and 7.5 mm of zone of inhibition in Aspergillus niger in an average). The higher the concentration of the extract, the more was the antifungal activity. The above study proves that acacia catechu seed has a high level of antifungal activity against disease causing pathogens and can be used in dentistry for eradicating the oral manifestations caused by these organisms.