university of kwazulu-natal faculty of science and agriculture school ...

There were two comparative studies on the solvent extracts with regard to antifungal
activity (Laing et al., 2006; Kisangau et al., 2007). In one study, the ether extract showed
higher activity than the dichloromethane and aqueous extracts while in the other study,
the hexane extract was more effective than the dichloromethane extract. This indicates
that future studies on ether and hexane extracts need to be conducted since these extracts
were shown to be active.
The leaves are the most popular part of the plant used to make extracts for antifungal
activity. Other studies mention aerial parts being used for extraction but these parts are
not specified and could be the leaves, flowers, seeds or fruit. There is also one report on
the roots being used. There is thus a need for more studies on the roots and stem material
to be carried out for antifungal activity as not many studies have been done on these plant
parts.
There is also a need for comparative studies to be done with the different plant parts as
well as with the solvent used for extraction. This would then provide a much clearer
indication of which plant part as well as which solvent is best suited for antifungal
activity and would be a good guide for phytochemists to use when choosing a suitable
plant part to study.
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