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Antifungal Activities Of Psidium Guajava Leaves Extract Against Gastrointestinal Fungal Isolates
Current treatment of gastrointestinal problems has been faced with a lot of challenges, including antimicrobial resistance and patients’ dissatisfaction, hence, the need for developing alternative cost-effective treatment approaches, one of which being screening of medicinal plants. The antifungal activities of Psidium guajava (guava) ethanolic leaves extracts against fungi species of gastrointestinal tract origin were studied. Fresh tender leaves of P. guajava were collected and extracted by ethanolic cold maceration method. Eight (8) fungal species isolated from stool specimens of gastroenteritis patients, and characterized using standard methods, were used for the study. They include: Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Lentinus squarrosulus. The antimicrobial activities of the plant leaves extract against the fungal isolates were assayed using the agar-well diffusion method, and results were analyzed statistically using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23. Psidium guajava leaves extract gave an inhibition zone diameter (IZD) of 6.50±0.71 mm against both C. albicans and C. glabrata, but exerted no activity (6.00±0.00) against other isolates (6.00±0.00 is equal to the diameter of the agar-well). All isolates were susceptible to clotrimazole (positive control), but resistant to the plant leaves extract, and the differences in their activities are statistically significant (p<0.05). Amphotericin B also exhibited significantly higher activities than the plant leaves extract (p<0.05). Sequel to the low antifungal activity observed in this study, it is therefore recommended that further studies be carried out on the antimicrobial (especially bacteria and fungi) and other properties of leaves extracts of Psidium guajava using different extraction solvents, and at varying concentrations, especially against infectious and non infectious gastroenteritis.
Key words: Antifungal activities, Psidium guajava, gastroenteritis