Pharmaceutical Biology

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Assessment of in vitro. Antifungal Activities of

Various Extracts of Indigenous Bahraini Medicinal
Plants

Qaher Mandeel & Ahmed Taha

To cite this article: Qaher Mandeel & Ahmed Taha (2005) Assessment of in�vitro. Antifungal
Activities of Various Extracts of Indigenous Bahraini Medicinal Plants, Pharmaceutical Biology,
43:2, 164-172, DOI: 10.1080/13880200590919519

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13880200590919519

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Pharmaceutical Biology
2005, Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 164–172

Assessment of in vitro Antifungal Activities of Various Extracts of

Indigenous Bahraini Medicinal Plants

Qaher Mandeel1 and Ahmed Taha2

1
Department of Biology and 2Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain

Abstract
The in vitro antifungal activity of aqueous, ethanol,
chloroform, petroleum ether, and residue extracts
from 10 indigenous Bahraini plants used in folk
medicine for the treatment of various diseases is
reported. Extract efficacy was evaluated using the
agar well diffusion assay against four filamentous
fungi and two yeasts monitored by standard antifun-
gal disks. The results showed that all but, in parti-
cular, ethanol and chloroform plant extracts reveal
variable degrees of bioactivity against at least two
of the tested microbes. The highest ethanol extract
activity was exhibited by Cressa cretica (L.) against
Penicillium citrinum Thom (32.2 mm) followed by
Candida albicans (C. P. Robin) Berkhout (25.7 mm).
The diffusable metabolites of Heliotropium curassavi-
cum L. also demonstrated marked inhibitory effects
against the same microorganisms. Chloroform
extracts of Emex spinosa Campd. displayed an elev-
ated potency against Alternaria alternata (Fries)
Keissler (27.9 mm) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Meyen ex. E. C. Hansen (27.5 mm). Zone of inhi-
bition against other fungi varied from 19.9 to
25.9 mm. However, the highest growth inhibition
was encountered with Fagonia indica Burm F. against
P. citrinum (29.3 mm). With the exception of chloro-
form extracts from cultivated soils, various extracts
of plants randomly collected from saline-affected soils
exhibited higher fungal radius inhibition than plants
from cultivated soils. The significance of these results
in relation to ethnobotanical data is discussed.
Keywords: Antifungal activity, Bahraini, Cressa cretica,
Emex spinosa, fungi, Heliotropium curassavicum,
medicinal plants.
Introduction
Bahrain is a small, semiarid island nation in the Arabian
Gulf with rich plant resources. About 310 plant species
have been reported from various ecological habitats
(El-Oqlah & Abbas, 1994). Of these, 80 species have been
documented as folk remedies for both internal and exter-
nal use (Abbas & Al-Saleh, 2002). The people of Bahrain
have a very long-standing tradition in the trade and use
of ethnomedicine due to the island’s strategic location
and several other sociocultural factors. The practice is
still strong in the treatment of minor ailments with these
plants including ulcers, pneumonia, stomach disorders,
rheumatism, diabetes, renal problems, and bronchitis
(Abbas et al., 1992). Researchers are increasingly turning
their attention to folk medicine and antimicrobial com-
pounds from plant species used in herbal medicine in
Bahrain (Abbas et al., 1992; Al-Saleh et al., 1993, 1997;
Mahasneh et al., 1996; Taha & Al-Sayed, 2000). More-
over, herbal medicine has improved as an alternative
effective solution to health problems and cost of pharma-
ceutical products. However, little work has been done to
match this ethnobotanical information with analytical
research to identify active chemical compounds.
Plants used in traditional medicine can offer potential
sources of new biological active compounds, many of
them as anticancer, anti-HIV, and antifungal agents.
Examples of these compounds include flavanoids, sapo-
nins, phenolics, glucosinolates, and cyanogenic glyco-
sides (Bennett & Wallsgrove, 1994; Grayer &
Harborne, 1994). Also, these plants can serve as a source
of model compounds for synthetic or semisynthetic
structure modification (Balandrin et al., 1993). Potential
natural or synthetic substances with biocidal activity are
considered candidates for developing new drugs for the

Accepted: October 15, 2004

Address correspondence to: Qaher Mandeel, Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, P.O. Box 32038, Isa
Town Campus, Kingdom of Bahrain. Tel.: (þ0973)876-417; Fax: (þ0973)782-360; E-mail: qmandeel@sci.uob.b

DOI: 10.1080/13880200590919519 # 2005 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

 Antifungal properties of Bahraini plants
treatment of various chronic as well as infectious
diseases.
In hot humid countries like Bahrain, human infection
by fungi, especially those on skin, vaginal, and mucosal
surfaces, constitute a serious problem. Furthermore,
the number of reported cases of immunocompromised
and HIV-infected patients with opportunistic and super-
ficial mycoses like cryptococcosis, candidiasis, and asper-
gillosis has increased in recent years (World Health
Organization, 1998). The use of several antimycotic
drugs available at present is limited by the emergence
of new resistant strains, toxicity, poor solubility, and
low potency (Navarro-Garcia et al., 2003). Therefore, it
is of prime importance to search for new, safe, and more
effective antifungal agents. In this connection, indigen-
ous medicinal plants continue to be a rich source of
therapeutic drugs. The active principles of many drugs
are usually found in plants as secondary metabolites.
Nevertheless, relatively few studies are focused on devel-
oping antifungal compounds (Jones et al., 2000; Portillo
et al., 2001; Quiroga et al., 2001; Navarro-Garcia et al.,
2003) from medicinal plants as compared to antibacterial
substances (Al-Saleh et al., 1997; Mahasneh et al., 1996).
The aim of this screening experiment was the selection
of promising plant species for further bioactivity-guided
fractionation of active antifungal compounds. We report
the results of an in vitro evaluation against fungi of vari-
ous extracts from 10 indigenous traditional medicinal
plants. No data are available on the use of these plants
in folk remedies. Also, the therapeutic efficacy and anti-
mycotic activity associated with these plants has not been
evaluated previously. It is hoped that the data presented
here will not only provide useful scientific information
but also encourage further interest and research on
Bahraini medicinal plants.
Materials and Methods
Plant material
Ten plant species were collected in 2002 in their natural
habitats from various regions of Bahrain. Dr. D. Al-
Esawi (Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of
Science, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan) ident-
ified the plant materials according to the checklist of
El-Oqlah and Abbas (1994). Voucher specimens were
deposited in the herbarium collection of the Department
of Biology of the University of Bahrain. Acquisition code
numbers are listed in Table 1.
Preparation of plant extracts
Plant parts, mostly leaves and stems, were shade-dried at
room temperature (25–30
C) and later ground into a fine
powder using a household blender and then sieved with a
165
2-mm-diameter mesh. The pulverized material (50 g) was
extracted sequentially with ethanol, petroleum ether, and
chloroform as follows.
Pulverized air-dried materials (ca. 50 g) were extracted
continually for 48 h in a Soxhlet extractor using 200 ml of
96% ethanol. The insoluble material was filtered off
using Whatman filter paper no. 4, and the filtrate was
dried (anhydrous MgSO4) and concentrated by complete
evaporation of the solvent in a vacuum rotary evapor-
ator at 40
C (water bath temperature). Percent yield of
ethanol extract (EE) of each plant material was determ-
ined from the resulting residue (0.56–1.46 g). Each of
the ethanol extracts, after setting aside a portion for
the antifungal assay, were further extracted with pet-
roleum ether (b.p. 60–80
C) three-times (3  10 ml).
The supernatant solutions were separated by decan-
tation, combined, dried, and the solvent evaporated in
the rotary evaporator as above to give the petroleum
ether extract. This extract, part of which was used in
antifungal test, was further extracted with three portions
of chloroform (3  10 ml). The mixture was filtered,
separated from droplets of water, and dried (anhydrous
MgSO4). Complete evaporation of chloroform afforded
the residue extract.
In vitro antifungal test solutions of these extracts and
controls were prepared by dissolving the equivalent of
100 mg in 1 ml of 5% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO, Merck,
Germany). The mixture resulted in a homogenous solu-
tion that was placed in small vials and stored at 5
C.
For the aqueous extract, 10 g of plant powder was
soaked in 50 ml of distilled de-ionized water for 72 h
while shaking over a water bath at 40
C. The mixture
was left for 3 h at room temperature and then the super-
natant was centrifuged at 1000 g at room temperature.
The filtrate was oven dried at 40
C until completely dry.
The dried aqueous crude extract was weighed, and the
concentration was adjusted to 100 mg=ml with distilled
sterilized water.
Fungal cultures and growth conditions
Test fungi used in this study (Table 2) were chosen prim-
arily on the basis of their importance to plants and human
as pathogens. The human pathogens were the yeast Can-
dida albicans (C. P. Robin) Berkhout (clinical isolate from
American Mission Hospital, Bahrain) and Saccharomyces
cerevisiae. Stocks were maintained on Sabouraud’s dex-
trose agar (SDA) (Oxoid, Hampshire, UK) slants at 4
C.
The filamentous plant pathogens Alternaria alternata
(Fries) Keissler, Penicillium citrinum Thom, Aspergillus
flavus Link, Aspergillus niger van Tieghem, and Fusarium
oxysporum Schlecht were locally isolated from diseased
plant parts and identified by standard procedure by the
first author. Stock cultures of these fungi were maintained
on potato dextrose agar (PDA) (Oxoid) slants at 4
C prior
to use in antifungal tests.
166
Table 1. Ethnobotanical data of medicinal plants used in antifungal assay.

Botanical Local Exract Collection Collection

name Family name Life form Parts used yield (%)a codeb site Popular uses

Heliotropium curassavicum L. Boraginaceae Kharees Herb Leaves & stem 1.6 D E Q1 S Adhari Emetic, snake bite, laxative, diuretic
Emex spinosa Campd. Polygonaceae Hammaidh Herb Leaves & stem 1.12 DEQ2C Hamad Purgative, diuretic, cure dyspepsia and
Town biliousness
Frankenia pulverulenta L. Frankeniaceae Mollaih Herb Leaves & stem 1.2 DEQ3S Mugsha Mucilaginous, demulcent
Cressa cretica L. Convolvulaceae Nedewah Herb Leaves & stem 2.6 DEQ4S Jid Hafs Aphrodisiac, expectoroant, antibilous,
aphrodisiac
Fagonia indica Burm f. Zygophyllaceae Shuwaika Shrub Leaves & stem 2.73 DEQ5C Jid Hafs Astringent, prophylatic against small pox,
febrifuge, snake bite
Cenchrus echinatusb Torr. Gramineae Sabat Grass Leaves & stem 0.92 DEQ6C Mugsha Pectoral, diuretic
Convolvulus arvensis L. Convolvulaceae Ollayg Herb Leaves & stem 2.91 DEQ7C Mugsha Purgative, cholagogic, antihemorrhagic,
harnnorrhage
Pluchea ovalis DC. Compositae NKc Shrub whole plant 2.2 DEQ8C Adhari Carminative, astringent, antipyretic,
diaphorytic
Capparis spinosa L. Capparaceae Fakauha Shrub Leaves, stem & fruit 6.13 DEQ9S Adhari Tonic, expectorant, anthelmintic,
diuretic, depurative, vasoconstrictive
Tamarix arabica Bung. Tamaricaceae Ethl Shrub Leaves 1.54 D E Q 10 S Hamad Astringent, antidiarrheic, diuretic
Town
a
Dry residue of the extract in terms of dry starting material.
b
Collection codes are preceded by DEQ for Drs. Dawood, Al-Esawi, and Qaher and S for saline or C for cultivated.
c
NK is not known.
 Antifungal properties of Bahraini plants 167

Table 2. In vitro antifungal activity of crude aqueous and ethanol extracts of 10 Bahrain medicinal plants.

Zone of inhibition diameter (mm)b

Plant species Extracta F. oxysporum A. niger A. flavus P. citrinum A. alternata C. albicans S. cerevisiae

H. curassavicum EE 18:7  0:7 15:8  0:1 10:0  0:6 25:5  0:4 14:7  0:9 21:3  0:5 20:4  0:4
AE 8:7  0:3 12:6  0:1
E. spinosa EE 11:4  0:0 8:2  0:8 10:1  0:2 12:2  0:4 18:0  0:0 16:6  0:6
AE 11:1  0:1
F. pulverulenta EE 11:3  0:3 13:2  0:3 13:3  0:1 13:8  0:4 13:9  0:3 14:2  0:7
AE
C. cretica EE 12:5  0:1 13:6  0:6 12:7  0:3 32:2  0:6 22:1  0:7 25:7  0:6
AE 10:0  0:3 15:6  0:9
F. indica EE 12:0  0:0 11:1  0:0 13:1  0:1
AE 9:3  0:1 12:7  0:3
C. echinatus EE 16:1  0:0 12:1  0:5 11:8  0:5 10:1  0:1
AE 11:1  0:5
C. arvensis EE 13:0  0:5 10:0  0:0
AE
P. ovalis EE 14:6  0:7 11:1  0:6 12:4  0:1 14:0  0:0 18:9  0:3 10:2  0:3
AE 9:1  0:6
C. spinosa EE 12:7  0:4 12:1  0:3 9:6  0:3 13:2  0:6 11:2  0:1
AE
T. arabica EE 11:9  0:1 12:1  0:2 13:1  0:8 13:7  0:2
AE 8:2  0:6
a
Extract: EE, ethanolic; AE, aqueous.
b
Results are mean  SD (mm) of three replications.

Test for antifungal activity (100 mg=ml) was slowly loaded in each well using a
micropipette. The dishes were then preincubated at 4
C
Antimycotic activity of aqueous, ethanol, petroleum
for 2 h to allow uniform diffusion of the extract into
ether, chloroform, and reside extracts of each plant
the agar. After preincubation, the plates were incubated
species was evaluated by the agar well diffusion assay
aerobically at 30
C for 48 h for yeasts and 72 h for
as modified by Quiroga et al. (2001).
filamentous fungi.
Overnight cultures of yeasts (C. albicans and S. cerevisiae)
Code numbers to maintain objectivity blinded the
were prepared by inoculating the organisms in a 250-ml
identity of the plates. Appropriate treatments including
Erlenmeyer flask containing 50 ml Sabouraud’s broth
wells loaded only with sterilized distilled water or DMSO
medium (SDM). The culture was incubated at 30
C for
were considered as negative controls. Additionally, for
18 h. Inocula of filamentous fungi (A. alternata, A. niger,
comparative purposes, disks containing standard anti-
A. flavus, P. citrinum, and F. oxysporum) were prepared
fungal disks like Nystatin and miconazol nitrate
on potato dextrose agar (PDA) in a 250-ml Erlenmeyer
(50 mg=ml) served as positive control. Each experiment
flask for 8 days at 30
C in alternate cycles of 12 h light
was carried out in triplicate and repeated at least twice.
and dark. Spore suspensions were raised by pouring 5 ml
The results were recorded by measuring the zone of
of distilled sterilized water into the flask, vortexing
growth inhibition around the agar well that was
for 1 min, and sieving through 8 layers of cheesecloth. A
expressed in mm diameter. The mean of three readings
final inoculum density of 105 cell=ml for yeast and 106
per zone was noted and standard deviation of all repli-
spore=ml for the filamentous fungi was calibrated using a
cates determined.
hemocytometer.
Aliquots of 50 ml inoculum of either yeasts or fila-
mentous fungi were aseptically mixed with 20 ml melted
Sabouraud’s dextrose agar (SDA) or PDA media cooled
Results
at 45
C. The media-spore suspension was gently mixed
and poured aseptically into 9-cm-diameter plastic Petri Table 1 shows the ethnobotanical data, extract yields
dishes. Plates were allowed to stand for 1 h at room (%), and collection codes of 10 selected Bahraini med-
temperature and a small well (5 mm) was cut in the icinal plants. They are represented by nine families and
middle of each solidified medium using sterilized cork were primarily in the form of herbs or shrubs. Plant parts
borer. One hundred microliters of each plant extract consisted mostly of leaves and stems except for C. spinosa,
168 Q. Mandeel and A. Taha
where fruits were also included in the assay. This
plant resulted in the highest extract yield (6.13%)
compared to other plants. Five plants, H. curassavicum,
F. pulverulenta, C. cretica, C. spinosa, and T. arabica,
were sampled from salt-affected soils, whereas the
remaining plants were collected from cultivated loca-
tions. Most of these plants have been used in folk
remedies in different forms for various afflictions (Abbas
et al., 1992). Nonetheless, no information of their
antifungal application and usage frequency to combat
infectious diseases whose etiological origin appears to
be microbial or anti-inflammatory has previously been
reported. Thus, selection of plants for this study was
based on availability of collection.
Bioactivity of the plant extracts was determined with
five filamentous fungi and two yeasts using the agar well
diffusion method. Results from the methanol and aque-
ous plant extracts are summarized in Table 2. The extent
of activity of these extracts was quantitatively assessed
by measuring the diameter of zone of inhibition around
the well in millimeters. Comparisons of data with
standard fungicidal disks were included to monitor the
experimental conditions and to facilitate better evalu-
ation of the results with other published reports.
All of the examined plant extracts demonstrated vary-
ing degrees of biological activity against at least one of
the tested microbes. Ethanol extracts were superior to
aqueous crude extracts and showed broader spectrum
Figure 1. Mean fungal inhibition zone (mm  SD) by each of the two plant habitat types for various solvents used against filamentous
fungi and yeasts.
of activities as shown in Figure 1. In particular, the
ethanol extract of H. curassavicum was found to be active
against all the fungal strains tested. Also, extracts
from E. spinosa, F. pulverulenta, C. cretica, P. ovalis,
and C. spinosa proved active against most of the fungi
assayed. Overall, the highest inhibitory effect of the
ethanol solution was exhibited by C. cretica against
P. citrinum (32.2 mm) followed by C. albicans (25.7 mm)
and A. alternata (22.1 mm). Furthermore, the ethanol
crude solution of H. curassavicum showed marked
activity toward P. citrinum (25.5 mm) and the yeasts
C. albicans and S. cerevisiae with inhibition zones of
21.3 mm and 20.4 mm, respectively. Apart from
A. alternata, extracts from P. ovalis revealed elevated
inhibitory effect against all microbes evaluated. Mainly,
growth reduction was noted in opposition to C. albicans
(18.9 mm) followed by F. oxysporum (14.6 mm) and
P. citrinum (14 mm). However, the efficiency of all other
ethanol extracts encountered was somewhat intermediate
with an average of 12.7-mm inhibition zone. The lowest
antifungal activities were reported for F. indica and
C. arvensis.
Among filamentous fungi, the highest susceptibility
frequency toward all plant extracts was observed with
A. flavus (100%) followed by A. alternata (80%) and
P. citrinum (70%). Among the yeasts, C. albicans was
more sensitive to plant extracts (80%) than S. cerevisiae
(60%).
 Antifungal properties of Bahraini plants 169

Table 3. In vitro antifungal activity of petroleum ether, chloroform, and residue extracts of five Bahraini medicinal plants.

Zone of inhibition diameter (mm)b

Plant species Extracta F. oxysporum A. niger A. flavus P. citrinum A. alternata C. albicans S. cervisiae

H. curassavicum PE 13:7  0:4 12:0  0:0 15:2  0:6 14:6  0:6 15:5  0:7
CE 12:8  0:9 9:7  0:1 8:8  0:3 19:9  0:3 19:1  0:4 18:3  0:2 21:0  0:0
RE 13:1  0:2 9:1  0:4 17:2  0:8 14:4  0:9 11:6  0:8
E. spinosa PE 13:2  0:3 15:8  0:3 16:2  0:6 8:1  0:6 14:0  0:0 12:1  0:1
CE 21:4  0:9 23:6  0:6 20:2  0:1 19:9  0:9 27:9  0:7 25:9  0:6 27:5  0:6
RE 11:8  0:6 10:1  0:8 11:6  0:5 13:2  0:2 10:2  0:3
F. pulverulenta PE 14:7  0:1 9:1  0:2 14:0  0:3 15:0  0:0 12:0  0:0 10:0  0:0 16:6  0:4
CE 11:1  0:1 10:8  0:2 10:6  0:3 11:1  0:2 13:6  0:2
RE 10:9  4 11:7  0:8
F. indica PE 11:7  0:3 12:6  0:6 11:6  0:7 15:7  0:8 12:2  0:6 15:5  0:6
CE 19:2  0:5 20:1  0:9 15:5  0:7 29:3  0:3 10:6  0:4 25:6  0:8
RE 12:0  00 10:0  0:0 13:7  0:2
C. echinatus PE 8:8  0:8 13:3  0:3 12:6  0:1 16:0  0:1 12:9  0:8 12:0  0:1
CE 17:1  0:6 20:1  0:3 16:8  0:3 18:7  0:6 19:9  0:9 18:6  0:3
RE 14:4  0:9 11:1  0:4
a
Extracts: PE, petroleum ether; CE, chloroform; RE, residue extracts.
b
Results are mean  SD (mm) of three replications.

Aqueous crude extracts showed, in general, poor
bioactivity against the assayed microorganisms (Table
2). The inhibitory effect ranged from as low as 8.2 mm
for T. arabica against A. alternata to as high as
15.6 mm for C. cretica against P. citrinum.
The results (Table 2) show that ethanol extracts pos-
sess pronounced antimycotic properties and that some
plants like C. cretica and H. curassavicum retain
increased biological attributes. As a result of the above
observations, the ethanol extract of some plants were
further fractionated. The resulting petroleum ether,
chloroform, and residue extracts from H. curassavicum,
E. spinosa, F. pulverulenta, F. indica, and C. echinatus
were examined for antifungal activity as show in Table 3.
All plant extracts revealed some degree of antifungal
activity with solvent extracts showing a broad-spectrum
activity at 100 mg=ml toward at least two of the fungi
assayed. Chloroform extracts of H. curassavicum and
E. spinosa and the petroleum ether extracts of F. pulver-
ulenta demonstrated a high efficacy potential against all
of the microbes examined. The highest extract potency
was displayed by the chloroform extracts, whereas the
petroleum ether and residue extracts indicated a similar
reduced pattern of inhibition.
Among all the fractionations, the broadest and promi-
nent activity was detected in the chloroform extract of E.
spinosa against A. alternata (27.9 mm) and S. cerevisiae
(27.5 mm) (Table 3). Likewise, the activity against other
fungi using the same extract varied from 19.9 to
25.9 mm for P. citrinum and C. albicans, in that order.
The highest zone of inhibition was exhibited against P.
citrinum (29.3 mm) for F. indica, followed by C. albicans
(25.6 mm). The diffused chloroform extracts from the
agar wells of H. curassavicum and C. echinatus also
revealed marked activity with a highest zone of 21 and
20 mm against S. cerevisiae and A. flavus, respectively.
Reduced antifungal activity was encountered with
F. pulverulenta.
The crude petroleum ether fractions of three plants,
namely, E. spinosa, F. pulverulenta, and C. echinatus, illu-
strated the highest comparable inhibitory level with an
average of 16.2 mm against A. flavus, S. cerevisiae, and
P. citrinum. A pronounced antifungal activity (average
15 mm) was also noted in the petroleum ether extract
of H. curassavicum against A. flavus and C. albicans
and in the extract of F. indica against A. alternata and
S. cerevisiae. Other filamentous fungi and yeasts were
also susceptible at different levels toward various plant
fractions.
Residue extracts yielded a somewhat similar pattern
of reduced microbial growth but showed only narrow-
spectrum efficiency. The lowest inhibitory activity was
more than 9 mm in radius against A. niger. The residue
extracts of H. curassavicum attained the highest growth
reduction (17.2 mm) against P. citrinum. This plant and
the diffusable extract of C. echinatus both exhibited anal-
ogous inhibition radii of 14.4 mm against A. alternata
and A. niger. The other residue fractions were active
against at least two fungi assayed.
In Figure 2, the mean inhibitory zone diameter for
extracts from each habitat (5 saline and 5 cultivated soils)
is illustrated for filamentous fungi and yeasts. For all
microbial species, P. citrinum was the most susceptible
microbe toward the overall diffusable metabolites of sal-
ine habitat (18.05 mm), followed by the yeasts C. albicans
(16.8 mm) and S. cerevisiae (15.5 mm). The other yeasts
170 Q. Mandeel and A. Taha
Figure 2. Mean fungal inhibition zone (mm  SD) by each of the two plant habitat types against filamentous fungi and yeasts. EE,
ethanolic extract; AE, aqueous extract; PE, petroleum ether extract; CE, chloroform extract; RE, residual extracts.
also displayed an increased susceptibility level toward
extracts from plants of cultivated soils than did the
filamentous fungi.
The effect of various solvents from each plant habitat
type on mean antifungal activity is shown in Fig. 1.
Unlike chloroform extracts from cultivated soils, which
revealed elevated antifungal activity, extracts of plants
from saline-affected soils showed only slightly increased
activity over those from cultivated habitats. In general,
the efficacy of solvents can be arranged in the order of
magnitudes chloroform > ethanol > petroleum ether >
residue > aqueous.
Discussion
This study clearly shows that all but, in particular,
chloroform and ethanol extracts of indigenous Bahraini
medicinal plants possess substantial yields of ingredients
active against the assayed microbes (Tables 2 and 3). The
yeasts appeared to be quite susceptible to the materials
diffused from the ethanol extracts of C. cretica and H.
currasavicum as revealed by the zone radii of 25.7 and
20.4 mm, respectively (Table 2). Likewise, chloroform
extracts of both E. spinosa and F. indica also proved to
be active in restricting the growth of C. albicans
(27.5 mm) while F. indica was active against S. cerevisiae
(27.5 mm). This observation is of particular interest, as
C. albicans is a ubiquitous pathogen common in patho-
genesis of urinary tract infections, endocarditis, vulvova-
ginalis, and oral thrush (Greenspan & Greenspan, 1997).
The yeast also causes serious systemic infection, includ-
ing opportunistic infections in HIV patients (Quiroga
et al., 2001).
For filamentous fungi, the ethanol diffusable sub-
stances of C. cretica and H. curassavicum showed promi-
nent biological activity against P. citrinum at a diameter
of restriction of 32.2 and 25.5 mm, respectively (Table 3).
In addition, the assayed microbes concealed a measur-
able degree of susceptibility toward the chloroform
extracts of E. spinosa with the greatest inhibition found
against A. alternata (27.9 mm) followed by A. niger
(23.6 mm) (Table 3). P. citrinum was the most sensitive
fungus to the diffusable metabolites of F. indica
(29.3 mm). Members of Aspergillus, Altenaria, Penicil-
lium, and Fusarium are well-known for their production
of toxins (e.g., aflatoxins of A. flavus). These secondary
metabolites are potent carcinogens, hepatotoxins, terato-
gens, and immunosuppressor compounds (Quiroga et al.,
2001). Species of F. oxysporum cause important plant
diseases like wilts, damping-off, root rot, and seed decay.
Species of Fusarium produce potent mycotoxins in food
commodities and are commonly prevalent fungi affecting
corn (Marassas, 1991). These fungi represent threats
not only to plants but also to animals and humans
consuming contaminated feed and food.
These findings suggest that the antifungal properties
in these plants are most likely due to the presence of
broad-spectrum biological compounds or general meta-
bolic inhibitors. Indigenous plants sampled randomly
 Antifungal properties of Bahraini plants
from saline soils demonstrated somewhat higher
inhibition levels, except in opposition to P. citrinum
and C. albicans (Fig. 2). It is probable that plants
inhabiting salt-affected soils are more likely weakened
by stress conditions caused by salinity as compared to
cultivated soil plants, the former being more prone to
pathogen attack and thus as a defense mechanism
produces antimicrobial secondary metabolites in
response. Examples of such synthesized metabolites
include tannins, phenolic compounds, and prolines
(Rizq, 1986; Al-Saleh et al., 1993; Bennett & Wallsgrove,
1994). Similarly, plants are known to produce antifungal
compounds in response to pathogen attack or other
abiotic stress factors (Wojtaszek, 1997; Osbourne, 1998).
With the exception of one study (Mahasneh et al.,
1996), no reports on the antifungal properties and chemi-
cal nature of the inhibitory compounds of the examined
plant taxa could be found in the literature. In their study,
Mahasneh et al. (1996) reported a mild inhibitory effect
(average 11.5 mm) of various extracts of C. spinosa
against F. oxysporum and C. albicans. This inhibitory
level is comparable to the reported activity in this study
of the ethanol extract against the same microorganisms
tested (Table 2).
Analysis of compounds in many plant families
revealed the occurrence of common phytochemical con-
stituents. In this regard, P. ovalis, belonging to Compo-
sitae, is well-known for its sesquiterpene lactones as
bioinhibitors (Bohlman, 1988). Many such lactones are
antibacterial agents, especially, against Gram-positive
bacteria (Bruneton, 1995). E. spinosa has been reported
to contain anthraquinones as well as quercitrin and rutin
flavanoids, coumarins, and alkaloids (Rizq, 1986). C.
cretica has been reported to contain quercetin glycosides,
alkaloids, coumarins, and sterols (Rizq, 1986). C. arvensis,
known locally as ollaiq, contains saponins, sterols, and
alkaloids. F. indica has been reported to contain triterpe-
noids, saponins, alkaloids, flavanoids, and tannins (Rizq,
1986). Pluchea spp. also contains quercetin glycosides. H.
currassavicum has been reported to contain pyrrolizidine
alkaloids, and F. pulverulenta has been reported to con-
tain flavanoids, coumarins, and tannins (Rizq, 1986).
Certain compounds produced by these plants have been
reported to have antifungal activity as well. Anthraqui-
nones have been reported to have antifungal efficacy
against A. niger (Ali et al., 1999), whereas pyrrolizidine
alkaloids have been reported to have antimicrobial
activity (Singh, 2002).
An understanding of the inhibitory mechanisms of
these indigenous Bahraini medicinal plants could provide
an avenue toward the development and efficient pro-
duction of new chemical classes of novel metabolites
(Hostettman, 1998). This is the first report describing
the antifungal activities of different Bahraini medicinal
plants. The use of these plants in the treatment of various
infectious diseases, whose symptoms might be of fungal
171
origin, highlights the importance of ethnobotanical
approach for the future selection of plants in the dis-
covery of new bioactive compounds. Further work,
including structure-function relationship and bioactivity-
guided fractionation to isolate and purify antifungal
compounds in some of these plants, is now in progress.
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