Antifungal and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the crude extracts of Acorus calamus,Tinospora cordifolia and Celestrus paniculatus

The antifungal activity of methanolic crude extracts of Acorus calamus, Tinospora cordifolia and Celestrus paniculatus was investigated against Alternaria solani, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium sp., Bipolaris sp. and Helminthosporium sp. at different concentrations (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 μg/ml). At 5000 μg/ml, crude extract of T. cordifolia is found to be highly effective against Helminthosporium sp. followed by A. calamus against A. solani. On the other hand, at 5000 μg/ml, C. paniculatus showed better activity against A. solani and Helminthosporium followed by A. calamus against A. solani at 4000 μg/ml. At 5000 μg/ml, all the three crude extracts showed least activity against fungus C. lunata and Fusarium sp. except A. calamus that showed better activity against C. lunata. The increase in the production of phenolic acid in the extract can be correlated with the induction of resistance in treated plants against phytopathogenic fungi. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the crude extract of medicinal plants showed six different phenolic acids (benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, gallic acid and tannic acid) present in varying amounts. The results of the study provide scientific basis for the use of the plant extract in the future development as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory agent.