Exploration of antifungal potential of different extracts of Zingiber officinale against Microsporum gypseum

Abstract

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has been utilized since ancient times in various traditional systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani, and naturopathy because of antifungal and antimicrobial potential against diverse fungal and microbial infections. Moreover, in the Asian subcontinent like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc., ginger is used in many food preparations as a condiment and boiled decoction to treat cold-cough and indigestion. The present research was conducted to find out the antifungal potential of various extracts of dried ginger powder, by means of paper disc diffusion method, with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, ethanol and aqueous solvents in 25 μml, 50 μml and 100 μml concentrations against Microsporum gypseum. Clotrimazole was used as a standard. The present study revealed that ginger is a potent antifungal agent against Microsporum gypseum. The ethanol extract of ginger using 100 μml concentrations depicted the highest zone of inhibition of 19.840+ 0.65mm and 46.139% of mycelial inhibition against the tested pathogen. While other drug extracts in different solvents also revealed reasonable to least antifungal potential. This finding tells us that ginger extracts tested proved to be a potent antifungal agent against Microsporum gypseum. It was found that ethanol extract of ginger is best effective against tested strain. This exploration of ginger extracts has confirmed its importance, particularly in the area of influence on dermatophytic fungal strain.