ANALYSIS OF PHYTOCONSTITUENTS AND IN VITRO ANTIFUNGAL EVALUATION OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF LEPIDIUM SATIVUM LINN. SEEDS

Abstract

Lepidium sativum Linn. is a small annual herb placed in the family Cruciferae. It is used in various Ayurvedic drugs in the management of hiccup, diarrhoea, asthma, bronchitis and cough. Seeds are rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, proteins, dietary fiber, iron, other essential nutrients and phytochemicals. In the present paper, methanolic extract of Lepidium sativum seed obtained by Soxhlet extraction was examined for phytochemical screening to detect the phytoconstituents. Pharmacological relevance of the extract for antifungal activity was evaluated at different concentrations of 10, 30, 60 and 90 mg/ml against human pathogenic and opportunistic fungi such as Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Fusarium sp, Penicillium sp and Penicillium marneffi. Imidazole was used as the reference antibiotic.  It was observed that methanolic extract showed alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, fixed oils, fats and Aspergillus flavus was the most sensitive fungi, inhibited at 30 mg/ml.