Antifungal activity, phytochemical analysis and mode of action of Atrichum undulatum (Hedw.) P. Beauv.

In the present study, the antifungal activity of a West Himalayan bryophyte Atrichum undulatum in different solvents (butanol, ethanol, methanol and aqueous) has been evaluated by agar well diffusion assay against six fungal strains (Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, Issatchenkia orientalis and Kluyveromyces marxianus). Among all the extracts, butanol extract showed potent antifungal activity against I. orientalis, K. marxianus, C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis followed by ethanol and methanol extract. Fungal cells treated with butanol extract showed cell wall damage under scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. GC-MS and FTIR analysis showed the presence of bioactive compounds which act as antimicrobial agents. The results support the traditional use of A. undulatum as an antimicrobial agent. The present research records for the first time the morphological alterations of fungal cells by the butanol extract of A. undulatum alone and synergistically with the antibiotic Amphotericin B (Amp B).