Efficacy and Phytochemical Analysis of Aqueous Extract of Calotropis procera against Selected Dermatophytes
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Since ancient time, increased interest has been witnessed in the use of an alternative herbal medicine for managing, and the treatment of fungal diseases worldwide. This may be connected to the cost and relative toxicities of the available antifungal drugs. It has been a known tradition practiced in the northern part of Nigeria that parents and teachers use the white latex of Calotropis procera to treat Tinea capitis in children attending the local religious school in the area. This study was conducted in 2009 to ascertain the above claim. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fresh latex of C. procera was screened for their antifungal activity against species of dermatophytes: Trichophyton spp., Microsporum spp. and Epidermophyton spp. using the agar incorporation method. RESULTS: The result shows that the latex inhibits the in vitro growth of these pathogenic fungi to varying extents with Trichophyton spp. being the most susceptible (P < 0.05) and thus highly inhibited by the latex followed by the Microsporum spp. and Epidermopyton spp. was least inhibited. These inhibitions followed a dose-dependent trend as undiluted latex (100%) gave the highest inhibitory impacts (P < 0.05) when compared to serially diluted latex. The phytochemical analysis of the fresh latex indicated the presence of alkaloids, saponin, tannins, steroids, flavonoids, anthraquinone, and triterpenoids. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study confirmed the perceived usefulness of the latex in the treatment of T. capitis (ringworm) practiced in our society and therefore, its use topically in the treatment of dermatomycotic infection is encouraged.
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Studies on closely related species have confirmed the efficacy of Calotropis extracts against dermatophytes like Microsporum canis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes.
“Furthermore, studies on closely related species have confirmed the efficacy of Calotropis extracts against dermatophytes like Microsporum canis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes , supporting its traditional use in treating Tinea capitis (ringworm) [12], [13].”
From Formulation and Evaluation of Antifungal Soap Using Latex of Calotropis gigantea L. (2026) · cites this paper as [12]
The Results report that C. procera latex inhibited Microsporum and Trichophyton isolates, and the Discussion reports antifungal activity from extracts of C. procera and the related C. gigantea. Neither passage identifies the tested fungi as Microsporum canis or Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The Discussion mentions T. mentagrophytes only in connection with an extract of Acalypha wilkesian. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Research works printed but not linked: 12
- [1]Cheesbrough M District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries 2006 2nd ed Cambridge, New York Cambridge University Press
- [2]Weitzman I Summerbell RC The dermatophytes Clin Microbiol Rev 1995 8 240 59 7621400 PMC172857
- [3]Iqbal J Mishra RP Allie AH Antidermatophytic activity of angiospermic plants: A review Asian J Pharm Clin Res 2015 8 75 80
- [4]Behl PN Luthra A Bullous eruption with calotropis procera – a medicinal plant used in India Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2002 68 150 1 17656917
- [5]Fostel JM Lartey PA Emerging novel antifungal agents Drug Discov Today 2000 5 25 32 10637546
- [6]Mossa JS Tariq M Mohsin A Ageel AM al-Yahya MA al-Said MS Pharmacological studies on aerial parts of Calotropis procera Am J Chin Med 1991 19 223 31 1767794
- [8]Aliero BL Umar MA Suberu HA Abubakar AA Handbook of Common Plants in North Western Nigeria 2001 1st ed Sokoto Usmanu Danfodiyo University Press
- [11]Sofowora EA Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine in Africa 1993 2nd ed Ibadan, Nigeria John Wiley and Sons Limited Sunshine House, Spectrum Books Ltd
- [15]Goyal D Sharma S Mahmood A Inhibition of dextransucrase activity in Streptococcus mutans by plant phenolics Indian J Biochem Biophys 2013 50 48 53 23617074
- [16]Alade PI Irobi ON Antimicrobial activities of crude leaf extracts of Acalypha wilkesiana J Ethnopharmacol 1993 39 171 4 8258974
- [17]Verástegui MA Sánchez CA Heredia NL García-Alvarado JS Antimicrobial activity of extracts of three major plants from the Chihuahuan desert J Ethnopharmacol 1996 52 175 7 8771460
- [21]Puavilai S Choonhakarn C Drug eruptions in Bangkok: A 1-year study at Ramathibodi Hospital Int J Dermatol 1998 37 747 51 9802684
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Formulation and Evaluation of Antifungal Soap Using Latex of Calotropis gigantea L.
Kharnare, R. M., Bairagi, V. A., Chavhan, R. B., Shivde, T. S., Khalane, S. M., & Lengare, S. R. (2026) · International Journal of Research in Engineering, Science and Management · doi:10.65138/ijresm.v9i5.3451
- Authors
- Aliyu, R., Abubakar, M., Kasarawa, A., Dabai, Y., Lawal, N., Bello, M., & Fardami, A.
- Affiliations
- Usmanu Danfodiyo University (NG)
- Corresponding author
- Aliyu, Rabiu
- Venue
- Journal of Intercultural Ethnopharmacology
- Publisher
- ScopeMed
- Published
- 2015
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 314
- ISSN
- 2146-8397 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4665027
- OpenAlex
- W2194182863
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 0.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Intercultural Ethnopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Phytochemistry and Bioactive Compounds
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Nail Diseases and Treatments
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity
- Keywords
- Calotropis procera, LaTeX, antifungal activity, dermatophytes, tinea capitis, Trichophyton, Microsporum, Epidermophyton, phytochemical screening, herbal medicine, fungal skin infection, topical treatment
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