Antifungal effect of Terminalia arjuna leaf extracts on Pythium myriotylum

Crude alcohol extract, 50% hydro-alcohol, aqueous extract as well as partially purified leaf extracts of Terminalia arjuna were screened in vitro for antifungal activity against economically important phytopathogenic fungus, Pythium myriotylum which is economically important as it causes Soft-Rot in ginger. It was isolated from infected ginger. Bioassays of the extracts were conducted by “Poisoned food technique” on agar plate culture with triplicates. Test fungus showed inhibitory activity as mycelial growth inhibition. 13.0% inhibition was observed with crude extract of leaf of Terminallia arjuna. Among the partially purified fractions, Acetone fraction gave the best inhibition. MIC and MFC were found to be 5mg/ml and 10mg/ml respectively. On the basis of these results, we conclude that the plant selected for this study can be regarded as a rich source of metabolites with significant antifungal activity.