Antioxidant Activity and In Vitro Inhibition Property of Mitrocarpus hirtus Leaf Extracts Against Tinea capitis (Scalp Ringworm)

Tinea capitis or scalp ringworm is a fungal skin disorder commonly found in children below 12-year-old. The management of ringworm by mean of synthetic drugs continue to face setback as result of antibiotic resistance being exhibited by the disease-causing fungi. Mitracarpus hirtus (L) is a weed plant found on gardens, farms and fields with wide geographical distributions. Pharmacological studies of the plant show its potent antifungal potentials as it is used traditionally for the treatment of skin diseases. The aim of this preliminary study is to examine the antioxidant activities and inhibitory properties of various solvent extracts of M. hirtus leaves against Tinea capitis by standard procedures.  The in vitro antioxidant activities show that all extracts possess moderate radical scavenging properties with IC50 values of 159.12±0.48µg/mL, 832.48±64.53µg/mL, 547.68±12.3553µg/mL and 168.41±5.0 µg/mL for Aqueous Residue, n-hexane, chloroform and ethylacetate extracts respectively. Considerable inhibitory effect on the growth of Tinea capitis was observed from the zone of inhibitions of the extracts with ethylacetate fraction exhibiting highest inhibition as the concentration increases. This study shows the potential of M. hirtus to inhibit the growth of tinea capitis. An extensive research is recommended in order to isolate the compounds responsible for the observed activities of the plant.