[Anti-microbial activity of Rosmarinus officinalis and Zingiber officinale extracts on the species of the genus Candida and on Streptococcus pneumonia]. / Activité antimicrobienne des extraits de Rosmarinus officinalis et Zingiber officinale sur les espèces du genre Candida et sur Streptococcus pneumoniae.

OBJECTIVE: Identifying plant extracts that could be used as new treatments for candidiasis and Streptococcus pneumoniae infections. METHODS: In this work, we tested the activity of the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis and Zingiber officinale on Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The anti-microbial activity was first tested in vitro, then in vivo on mice and rats. RESULTS: The results showed that the methanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis and the ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale were the most active on all the tested micro-organisms. The most sensitive species were Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The in vivo anti-microbial activity reported that the ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale was the most active on the three species. On the contrary, Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis were more sensitive to the methanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis, but these species were considered as the most resistant yeasts. CONCLUSION: The ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale was more active than fluconazole and amoxicillin on Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Streptococcus pneumoniae, so, it could be considered for treating infections by these species. Similarly, the methanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis could be effective for treating candidiasis by Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis.

Antifungal activity of Camellia sinensis crude extracts against four species of Candida and Microsporum persicolor.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: Candidiasis and dermatophytoses are benign infections in humans and animals, but they are very dreaded diseases in immunocompromised individuals. These infections become resistant to different treatments which make them more dangerous. In this work, we tried to find a new way for treating them. So we were interested in the antifungal activity of Camellia sinensis (tea); this plant is known to have many health benefits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We tested the ability of the acetone and aqueous crude extracts of the plant to inhibit in vitro the growth of Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei and Microsporum persicolor. Then, the antifungal activity against these species was tested in vivo in mice. RESULTS: The results showed that the acetone crude extract had the most important in vitro activity against all the fungi. But in vivo it was only the most active against Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis and Microsporum persicolor. Candida krusei was more sensitive to the aqueous crude extract. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that tea could be considered to treat infections caused by the five tested species.

Antifungal activity of acetone extracts from Punica granatum L., Quercus suber L. and Vicia faba L.

Human and animal mycoses become more frequent and more resistant to traditional treatments. In this work, we tested the in vitro antifungal activity of acetonic extracts of Punica granatum L., Quercus suber L. and Vicia faba L. against seven pathogen fungi and the in vivo antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The phytochemical screening was also carried out and showed that the extracts contained mainly proanthocyanidins. Other polyphenols were also present but in low quantity. The acetone extract of V. faba L. gave a good in vitro inhibition of yeasts and was the most active for treating candidiasis in mice. It decreased the percentage of mortality with only 20µg. But the in vivo antifungal activity of this extract on T. mentagrophytes was low. It only showed a small diminution of crusting and erythema after the administration of 100µg. On the contrary, the acetone extracts of P. granatum L. had a poor activity against yeasts and a better one against moulds. It gave the best in vivo antifungal activity against T. mentagrophytes by healing animals with 40µg. The extract of P. granatum L. gave also an interesting in vivo antifungal activity against T. mentagrophytes with an active dose of 80µg.