The ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of leaves and stems of Clerodendrum inerme and Clerodendrum phlomidis (Verbenaceae) were screened for antifungal activity. Both ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of C. phlomidis stem and leaf exhibited appreciable inhibition on all the studied plant and human pathogenic fungi. | Turk J Biol 30 (2006) 139-142 © TÜB‹TAK Antifungal Activity of Clerodendrum inerme (L). and Clerodendrum phlomidis (L). Rajasekaran ANITHA1, Ponnusamy KANNAN2 . 2Centre Govindachari Centre for Natural Products, for Biotechnology, SPIC Science Foundation, 88 Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai 600 032 - INDIA Received: Abstract: The ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of leaves and stems of Clerodendrum inerme and Clerodendrum phlomidis (Verbenaceae) were screened for antifungal activity. Both ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of C. phlomidis stem and leaf exhibited appreciable inhibition on all the studied plant and human pathogenic fungi. However, leaf hexane extract (1 mg/ml) of C. inerme inhibited the plant pathogenic fungi better than the human dermatophytes. Key Words: Clerodendrum inerme, Clerodendrum phlomidis, Antifungal activity Introduction Members of the family Verbenaceace are varied in their biological activities and the chemical constituents that they possess. Clerodendrum spp. (Verbenaceae) are cosmopolitan in distribution and have been used in Indian and Chinese traditional medicine for ages. In Indian tribal medicine, leaves of C. inerme are used for treating fever, cough, skin rashes and boils, and are used in conjunction with other plant leaves. They are also used to treat umbilical cord infection and for cleaning the uterus in local medicine. A decoction of C. phlomidis leaves is used along with other plants for inflammation, and is effective in treating bronchitis, headache, weakness, drowsiness and digestive problems (1). Recently the anti-inflammatory properties of the leaf extract of C. trichotomum were reported (2). It also seemed to have antipyretic activity (3). In vitro and in vivo studies of dried leaf extracts of this plant have demonstrated antioxidant activity (4) and have justified the therapeutic use of this plant in tribal medicine. The diterpenoid compounds from Clerodendrum spp. are effective at lower concentration .
