PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF SAPONIN EXTRACT FROM ALGERIAN SILENE HOGGARIENSIS QUEZEL

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the presence of active phytochemical compounds of Silene hoggariensis Quezel and to assess the antifungal activity of saponin extracts. Plant sample was collected from Adrar department (south Algeria), the phytochemical screening was conducted on the arial part by three solvents. The saponin extracts were screened for antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus ochraceus, Fusarium oxysporium and Penicillium expansum using two methods: inhibition of radial growth on solid medium (PDAa) and inhibition of biomass on liquid medium (PDB). The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of various secondary metabolites of therapeutically importance. The major phytochemicals found were saponins (3.2%), tannin (0.08%) and alkaloids (0.01%). The in vitro antifungal assay of the saponins exhibit antifungal potency against fungal strains tested with varied effectiveness. Higher antifungal inhibition was observed on Fusarium oxysporium (IAF: 40.69%), and Penicillium expansum (IAF: 36.20%). Less antifungal effect of saponins was observed for Aspergillus ochraceus and Aspergillus flavus. The results provided evidence that the studied saponin extract might indeed be potential sources of natural antifungal agents.