Antifungal Activity of Ficus racemosa Ethanolic Extract against Dermatophytes-An in vitro Study

Ficus Racemosa also known as Ficus glomerata which is widely used medicinal plant with anti-bacterial antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anticancer activities. Ficus Racemosa belongs to Moraceae family which is prevalently seen in warmer regions of Asia, America, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, and Australia. Most prominently distributed in India. Various parts of the plant like leaves, bark, root, fruit possess therapeutic value. The decoction of the leaves are used to treat dysmenorrhea, Latex of the leaves is used to treat blisters in measles. Fruit is an astringent used to treat constipation, sed as carminative agent, Bark is used to treat dysentery, diabetes, burns and swelling. Roots are used to treat gonorrhea; heat stroke. The objective of the study is to evaluate in-vitro antifungal activity of Ficus racemosa against three human pathogenic fungi. Trichophyton rubrum Microsporum gypseum and Epidermophyton floccosum. The herbal extract was tested against various concentrations adopting agar well diffusion method. The results indicated that the extract was ineffective and did not show antifungal activity.