Comparison of antifungal activity of medicinal plant Tylophora indica Merr. with its in vitro raised plant and callus.

ABSTRACT

The antifungal potential of medicinal plant Tylophora indica Merr. was evaluated by agar well diffusion method and it was compared with the activity of its in vitro raised plant and callus . The extracts of in vitro raised plant and callus showed better antifungal activity against the tested fungal species as compared to parent plant. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the extracts were determined by broth microdilution method. The MIC of the alcoholic leaf extracts of parent plant against tested fungi ranged from 12.0 to 98.0 μg/ml, whereas, the MIC of extract of in vitro raised plant and callus ranged from 1.53 to 49.0 μg/ml and 3.05 to 24.0 μg/ml respectively. The present study leads to conclusion that extracts of Tylophora indica contain good antifungal activity which could be used in the treatment of various fungal infections showing resistance to treatment by currently used antifungal agents. As the in vitro raised plant and callus gave good results, in vitro cultivation of the explants may be used to obtain novel antifungal compounds. This is the first report on antifungal activity of Tylophora indica through in vitro raised plant and its callus.