Abstract

STUDY ON ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF AERIAL PART OF ARGEMONE MEXICANA LINN

Raveendra Singh Kushtwar* and Subhasish Tripathy

Abstract

Our culture is rich in herbal drugs. These herbal plants have the tendency to produce many kinds of secondary metabolites in severe conditions. These metabolites are polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids, quinones, alkaloids, polysaccharides and so on. Antifungal activity of aerial part of Argemone mexicana was also performed on different extracts of Argemone mexicana against Fusarium moniliforme and Aspergillus niger. Ethyl acetate extract of Argemone mexicana showed significant results against Fusarium moniliforme which was further followed by ethanolic extract of Argemone mexicana. Antifungal activity of EAEAM may be due to the flavonoids, aromatic acids, and its esters. The strong antifungal activity of Argemone mexicana may be due to high total phenolic and flavonoid contents.

Keywords: Antifungal activity, Argemone mexicana, Aerial part, Ethanolic extract.