Medicinal Plants Antifungal Agents Against Pathogenic Dermatophytes and Phenol Content Measurement

Introduction: Dermatophytes are a class of fungi that invade keratinized tissues in humans and other animals, including hair, skin, and nails, causing dermatophytoses. The high cost of therapy, side effects of drugs, and occasionally microbial resistance to synthetic drugs are some of the issues that have prompted efforts to find new medicines. This research aimed to study the antifungal properties of ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Rumex acetosella, Teucrium polium, and Glycyrrhiza glabra plants against Microsporum canis, Microsporum gypseum, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes and to ascertain the phenol content of these plants. Methods: Following the collection and identification of R. acetosella, T. polium, and G. glabra for this descriptive comparative study, they were washed and dried in the shade. Next, the Soxhlet apparatus was used to obtain methanolic and ethanolic extracts from these plants. The antifungal activity of these extracts was examined in vitro against M. canis, M. gypseum, and T. mentagrophytes using the diffusion and agar dilution method according to CLSI guidelines. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration MIC and the Minimum Fungicidal Concentration MFC of the extracts were also determined compared to griseofulvin. Additionally, the phenol content of these extracts was measured by an optical spectrophotometer. Results: The methanolic extract of T. polium at 200 mg/ml led to the maximum inhibition zones of T. mentagrophytes PTCC 5054, M. canis PTCC 5069, and M. gypseum PTCC 5070 that were 23.41, 23.45, and 25.30 mm, respectively. The highest growth rates of T. mentagrophytes, M. canis, and M. gypseum in agar dilution method were found in 2.5 mg/ml of G. glabra ethanolic extract at 19.07, 18.32, and 17.81 mm, respectively. The smallest growth of T. mentagrophytes, M. canis, and M. gypseum were observed in the plate containing 40 mg/ml of the methanolic extract of T. polium, with 5.62, 3.72, and 5.41 mm diameters, respectively. MIC was less than 6.25 mg/ml for methanolic extract of T. polium. The tannic acid in the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of T. polium, R. acetosella, and G. glabra were 227.33 and 482.89 μg/ml, 94 and 475.48 μg/ml, and 27.33 and 60.67 μg/ml, respectively. Conclusion: The results revealed that methanolic extracts of the plants under study, particularly T. polium, had a stronger inhibitory impact than ethanolic extracts. Following rigorous toxicity testing and in vivo research, methanolic extracts of these plants may prove to be effective options as adjuvants or alternatives to chemical drugs.