Antifungal Activity of Methanolic Extracts of Leaves of Eucalyptus citriodora and Saraca indica Against Fungal Isolates from Dermatological Disorders in Canines

Background and Objective: Saraca indica and Eucalyptus citriodora have been used in traditional medicine against variety of health disorders. Present study was undertaken with the objective of evaluating the in vitro antifungal activity of methanolic extracts of leaves of Saraca indica L. (SI) and Eucalyptus citriodora (EC) individually and both in combination (SI+EC; 1:1 w/w) against the fungal isolates obtained from male dogs suffering with general dermatitis and recurrent chronic pyoderma. Methodology: Antifungal activity of SI (20 mg mL(-1)), EC (20 mg mL(-1)) and SI+EC (10+10 = 20 mg mL(-1)) extracts was evaluated by disc diffusion method against standard culture of Microsporum sp. and clinical isolates of dermatophytes, Candida and Aspergillus sp. fungus obtained as the mixed culture from clinical cases under study. Fluconazole (25 mu g disc(-1)) was used as the positive control while methanol as the negative control. Results: All the three extracts (SI, EC, SI+EC) showed promising and prolonged antifungal activity against different fungal micro-organisms. Conclusion:This study evidently demonstrated promising antifungal activity of the methanolic extracts of Saraca indica and Eucalyptus citriodora leaves.