Inhibitory effect of Tridax procumbens against human skin pathogens

Tridax procumbens is a common herb with significant medicinal properties traditionally used in the treatment of many skin diseases. The methanol extract of T. procumbens exhibited high antifungal activity against clinically important human skin pathogens such as Microsporum fulvum, Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, Trichosporon beigelii and Candida albicans with low MIC values. The fractionation of a methanol extract with dichloromethane yielded an oily viscous fluid with antifungal activity which was separated and characterized. The GC–MS analysis revealed the presence of 26 compounds. The major constituents were characterized as 9,12-octadecadienoic acid ethyl ester (18.04%), 5α-cholestane (12.42%), hexadecanoic acid ethyl ester (4.86%) and 9-octadecenoic acid ethyl ester (4.72%). This study demonstrated the efficacy of this herb against clinically important dermatophytes and also justified its traditional use.