Antifungal potential of some medicinal plants on selected pathogenic fungi

Medicinal plants represent a rich source of antimicrobial agents. Plants are used medicinally in different countries and they are source of many potent and powerful drugs. A wide range of medicinal plant parts is used for extract as raw drugs. They possess varied medicinal properties, while some of these raw drugs are collected in small quantities by the local communities and traditional healers for local use.1 The plants represent a rich source iiof antimicrobial agents.2,3 Many of the plant materials used in traditional medicine are readily available in rural areas at relatively cheaper than modern medicine.4‒6 The activity of plant extracts on bacteria and fungi has been studied by a very large number of researchers in different parts of the world.7‒9 The plant metabolites and plant based pesticides appear to be one of the better alternatives as they are known to have minimal environmental impact and danger to consumers in contrast to the synthetic drugs.10,11 Leptadenia hastata (Pers) Decne (Family‒Asclepiadaceae), commonly known as hastata is edible non‒domesticated vegetable and it is collected in wild throughout Africa. It is a voluble herb with creeping latex stems, glabescent leaves, glomerulus and racemus flowers as well as follicle fruits. It is typically grown in tropical dry lands in sandy soil. Wild foods like Leptadenia hastata provide food security during seasonal changes and are used medicinally in many areas. The breeders commonly used the leaf and stems for their parasitic activity and against placental retention.12 This plant can be used as a probiotic supplements and foods to lower risk of infections, improved digestion and even a reduced risk for some chronic diseases as claimed by traditional healer.12 However, Barringtonia racemosa are mangrove plants. This specie which is also known as putat, fish poison tree or powder puff tree is a type of highly valuable plant species due to its medicinal values. They are geographically found to be widely distributed from eastern Africa and Madagascar to Micronesian, Asia and Polynesian Island, the species was said to have been associated very well in various tribes around the world with diverse ethno‒botanical uses. The therapeutic potential of this herb is as a result of the presence of diverse bioactive compounds such as Lupeol, Germanicol, Teraxanol Barringtogenic, Barringtogenol etc. However, most of the studies on Barringtonia racemosa are restricted to crude extracts, and many biologically active compounds are yet to be identified in order to claim the traditional uses of this