Investigation of the effect of watery and alcoholic extract of Calendula officinalis on the growth of fungal agents isolated from skin infections caused by burns

Abstract

Discovering new antifungals, is essential to saving modern medicine. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the antifungal effects of extracts of Calendula officinalis on the growth of fungal agents isolated from skin infections caused by burns. In this experimental study, watery and alcoholic extracts of C. officinalis were prepared by the maceration method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of extracts were evaluated against yeast isolates (Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei, Candida glabrata, Trichosporon asahi, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, and Rhodotorula dirnensis) and filamentous fungi (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus oryzae, Alternaria alternata, Fusarium oxysporum, and Cladosporium cladosporioides). All tested yeast isolates were resistant to the watery extract of C. officinalis, while all (except C. tropicalis) were sensitive to the alcoholic extract. Among filamentous fungi, only Aspergillus spp. were sensitive to the watery extract of C. officinalis. In this study, only A. alternata and C. cladosporioides were resistant to the alcoholic extract of C. officinalis. The results of this study showed that the alcoholic extract of C. officinalis can be a suitable alternative for antifungal drugs in the treatment of burn wound infections caused by fungal agents.