Dorema kopetdaghense Pimenov: A potent antifungal medicinal plant

Background and purpose: Dorema species are well-known antifungal medicinal plants. Dorema kopetdaghense (Apiaceae family) is a rarely investigated plant endemic to Iran. The present study aimed to assess the antifungal, antibacterial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities of root extracts of different plants.

Materials and methods: The methanolic crude extract (MeOH) and its sub-fractions, including petroleum ether (PE), dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and n-butanol (n-BuOH) were prepared.

Results: Results from the antifungal and antibacterial activities of fractions indicated remarkable antifungal effects against Candida albicans with minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values of 10 µg/mL; however, no cytotoxicity was observed in the case of selected cancer cells. Moreover, methanolic soluble fractions showed good antiradical effects evaluated via DPPH and β-carotene bleaching tests possessing half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 20.11 and 41.32 µg/mL, respectively, though it was less effective than positive controls ascorbic acid (8.47 and 31.71 µg/mL, respectively) and butylated hydroxytoluene (IC₅₀: 10.29 and 33.55 µg/mL, respectively).

Conclusion: It can be concluded that strong antifungal and antioxidant activities without notable cytotoxicity, suggest the potential safety of the plant to be used as a natural antifungal remedy as well as a preservative in the food industry.