SCREENING FOR ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF 19 LATIN-AMERICAN PLANTS

Dichloromethane and methanol extracts of 19 Latin American plants, mos t of them selected on the basis of traditional medicine reports, were subjected to screening for antifungal activity, using the agar disk di ffusion assay against several fungi. Of the extracts tested, those of Andira inermis, Andira surinamensis, Bixa orellana, Blepharocalyx twee diei, Croton zehtneri, Gallesia integrifolia, Hedyosmum anisodorum, He terotheca inuloides, Hura crepitans, Mansoa alliacea, Ocimum micranthu m, Persea laevigata, Piper elongatum, Piper fulvescens, Polygonum hydr opiperoides and Potalia amara exhibited some level of activity. (C) 19 98 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.