Antifungal activity of Paraguayan plants used in traditional medicine

The antifungal activity of aqueous, dichloromethane and methanol extracts from 14 Paraguayan plants used in traditional medicine for the treatment of skin diseases was assayed in vitro by the agar disk diffusion method against 11 fungal strains comprising several filamentous fungi and yeasts. Among them, the dichloromethane extracts of Acanthospermum australe. Calycophyllum multiflorum, Geophila repens and Tabebuia avellanedae. as well as the: aqueous and methanol extracts of the latter, showed the highest activity. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.