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Antifungal activity of ethanolic extracts of Ocimum gratissimum and Vernonia amygdalina leaves against dermatomycotic agents isolated from domestic animals in South Eastern Nigeria

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Abstract

Dermatomycoses, often caused by both dermatophytic and non dermatophytic fungi, affect the epidermis, nail, and hair. There is an increase in antifungal resistance against antimycotics of many dermatophytes and non-dermatophytes, and this has posed a serious global challenge. Therefore, the search for effective and easily consumable new substances with antimycotic activity is of great necessity. This study aims to isolate dermatomycotic agents from domestic animals and evaluate, using ethanolic leaf extracts of Ocimum gratissimum and Vernonia amygdalina, the in vitro antifungal profile of these extracts against these isolates. A total of 698 domestic animals (dogs, sheep, goats, and pigs) were examined for skin lesions suggestive of dermatomycosis and skin scrapings collected. The agar well diffusion assay was used to evaluate the in vitro activity of both leaf extracts using voriconazole and their solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), as control positive and negative respectively. Results showed that among the fungal positive cultures, dermatophytes (5) and non-dermatophytes (55) were observed. These isolates except Penicillium spp. showed activity with ethanolic leaf extracts of O. gratissimum (128 μg/ml) and V. amygdalina (128 μg/ml) and were susceptible also to the positive control voriconazole (0.03 μg/ml). Therefore, the main dermatomycotic agents isolated from domestic animals in South Eastern Nigeria were Microsporum spp., Trichophyton spp., Aspergillus spp., and Penicillium spp., and these were susceptible to O. gratissimum and V. amygdalina at 128 μg/ml. The study confirms that these extracts exhibit antifungal activity to these dermatomycotic agents excluding Penicillium spp., and as they were cheap, less toxic, safe natural product, and readily available, they are preferred to synthetic drugs.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Diagnostic Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for their expert technical help and advice, Dr. (Mrs) Thelma Ihedioha of Department of Physiology and Pharmacology for helping out with the preparation of the leaf extracts, and Dr. I.G Eke of Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Mr. Ngene of Department of Veterinary Medicine for the preparation of the various drug concentrations.

Special thanks to Dr. (Mrs) T. Ihedioha and Mr. A. Ngene for their assistance with the leaf extracts.

Funding

This work was funded by the Tertiary Education Trust FUND (Institution Based Research), University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. TETfund grant No. TETFUND/DESS/UNN/NSUKKA/RP/VOL.X.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

    C. I. Aneke, C. C. Nwogwugwu, I. C. I. Ugochukwu & K. F. Chah

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  1. C. I. Aneke
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  2. C. C. Nwogwugwu
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  3. I. C. I. Ugochukwu
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  4. K. F. Chah
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Contributions

C.I Aneke conceived the idea and wrote the manuscript. C.C.Nwogwugwu and C.I Aneke carried out the research. K.F Chah co supervised the work while C.I.I. Ugochukwu read and corrected the manuscript.

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Correspondence to C. I. Aneke.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical considerations

The experimental protocol was approved by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka Senate committee on Medical and Research. Ethics and ethical considerations governing the use and conduct of experiments with and on live animals were strictly adhered to.

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Aneke, C.I., Nwogwugwu, C.C., Ugochukwu, I.C.I. et al. Antifungal activity of ethanolic extracts of Ocimum gratissimum and Vernonia amygdalina leaves against dermatomycotic agents isolated from domestic animals in South Eastern Nigeria. Comp Clin Pathol 28, 1791–1795 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-019-03020-y

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