Antidermatophytic activity of Eclipta prostrata L. against human infective Trichophyton and Microsporum spp.

Emergence of drug resistance is a serious problem in controlling fungal infectious diseases, thus there is a need to look for new drugs from various sources to combat with the problem. Many plants are used in traditional medicine as therapeutic agents which need scientific validation. In the present investigation, Eclipta prostrata L. a known medicinal plant of tropics is evaluated for antifungal potential against species of human infectious Microsporum and Trichophyton following CLSI protocols. Of the five extracts significant activity was observed in petroleum ether extract with a MIC of 0.15 mg mL⁻¹ against all the test fungi. Attempts to isolate the active principle by TLC revealed 5 bands, but none of the bands showed activity in bioautography, suggesting the synergistic effect. Further work is in progress to identify the combination of molecules responsible for the synergism.