Antifungal Activity of Hypericum havvae Against Some Medical Candida Yeast and Cryptococcus Species

Purpose: To investigate the antifungal activities.of the individual as well as the combined hydroalcohol leaf and root extracts of endemic Hypericum havvae A. Guner (Hyperiaceae). Methods: Each dry powdered plant material (20 g) was soaked in 150 ml of aqueous ethanol (50: 50 %v/v) until complete saturation of the plant material. After the extracts were filtered and evaporated, the antifungal activity of the extracts was tested against medical yeast, Candida (C. albicans ATCC 10231, C. tropicalis ATCC 13808, C. guilliermondii ATCC 6260) and Cryptococcus (C. neoformans ATCC 90112 and C. laurentii 34142) species by visual broth microdilution method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extract was derived from the results. Ketoconazole was used as the reference standard. Results: MIC values ranged from 3.12 to 25.00 mg/ml. The extracts exhibited strong antifungal effect against the yeast cultures but the combination of the plant extracts (leaf + root) possessed stronger antifungal potency against Candida albicans and Cryptococcus laurentii, with the same MIC value of 1.56 mg/ml. Conclusion: Our findings support the use of Hypericum havvae in traditional medicine for the treatment of fungal infections, especially Candidiasis.