The diversity of antifungal compounds of six South African Terminalia species (Combretaceae) determined by bioautography
Keywords:
Combretaceae, Terminalia species, antifungal activity, bioautography, Rf value, dereplication.Abstract
A bioautography method was developed to determine the number of antifungal compounds in Terminalia
species extracts. Acetone, hexane, dichloromethane and methanol leaf extracts of six Terminalia species (T.
prunioides, T. brachystemma, T. sericea, T. gazensis, T. mollis and T. sambesiaca) were tested against five
fungal animal pathogens (Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Microsporum
canis and Sporothrix schenkii). The Rf values and relative activities of separated compounds were determined.
Hexane and dichloromethane extracts had at least three times more antifungal compounds than the other
extracts indicating the nonpolar character of the antifungal compounds. From the Rf values, the non-polar
character of the antifungal compounds was confirmed indicating that the antifungal activity is not due to
tannins. M. canis had the highest number, up to ten, of antifungal compounds. All Terminalia species
contained a compound (Rf = 0.46 in benzene/ethanol/ammonium hydroxide (90/10/1) active against all tested
pathogens. T. sericea and T. brachystemma were the most promising candidates for isolating antifungal
compounds. The results demonstrate the value of bioautography in examining plant extracts with antifungal
activity, selecting species for further study and dereplicating the isolation of compounds.
