GA 2018

Oral candidiasis is the fungal infections caused by Candida albicans and is mostly prevalent in immunocompromised patients. Ximenia caffra var. natalensis Sond. is used traditionally in South Africa for the treatment of oral candidiasis by the local people and traditional healers. The aim of the study was to investigate the in vitro antifungal activity of the selected plant extracts and isolate compounds from the most promising plant species. The roots extracts of Ximenia caffra var. natalensis was evaluated for antifungal activity against Candida albicans using serial dilution assay. Acetone extracts were active against the tested fungal pathogen with MIC values of 0.20 mg/ml and were selected for further phytochemical analysis. Bioautography assay was used to determine the number of active compounds in the plant extracts. Antifungal compounds were observed in the acetone extracts and were subjected to column chromatography. Bioassay-guided fractionation using column chromatography of acetone extract led to the isolation of four antifungal compounds. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry (MS) were used for the identification of isolated compounds. Cytotoxicity of Ximenia caffra var. natalensis and isolated compounds was determined using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay against Vero kidney cells. Compound 1 was relatively not toxic against the cells with LC50 32.2 mg/ml. Compound 1 was identified as epigallocatechin gallate, while compounds 3 was identified as Kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside and 3 and 4 were not identified due to the presence of mixtures of long chain fatty acids. The results support the traditional use of the selected plant species for the treatment of oral candidiasis by the local people and traditional healers in Aganang Local Municipality. Keywords: Ximenia caffra var. natalensis, Cytotoxicity, Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).