Screening Methods in the Study of Fungicidal Property of Medicinal Plants

There is growing interest in the use of medicinal plants and herbal products for fungal infection related diseases control program because plant derived drugs are considered safe and free from adverse side effects. Plants generally produce many secondary metabolites which constitute an important source of antifungal drugs. Medicinal properties of plants are normally dependent on the presence of certain phytochemical principles such as alkaloids, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, saponins, tannins and polyphenols which are the bioactive bases responsible for the antimicrobial property (Ebana et al., 1993). It is difficult to discover antifungal agents against yeasts and filamentous fungi compared to bacteria caused diseases. Fungal cell wall is predominantly composed chitin and other polysaccharides such as β-glucans which become hindrance to the antibiotic activity on the cells. Hence appropriate screening methods to study the antifungal activity of natural resources play an important roles in the development of fungicide.