Antifungal Activity of Camel Faeces on Fungi with Special Reference to Dermatophytes

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate antifungal activity of camel faeces (CF) on some pathogenic fungi using water, organic extracts of CF, crude and ash. Agar well diffusion and incorporated methods were used for screening activity of Candida albicans and other fungi respectively. Parallel experiments were conducted with ketoconazole and nystatin, as positive control whereas; the vehicle solvents were used as negative control. Phytochemical analysis of Camel feaces was carried out following Harborne method. The obtained results revealed high antifungal activity of CF against tested fungi. Aqueus and ethanol extracts exerted significant effect on dermatophytes followed by chloroform and hexane extracts compared to the ash which revealed no activity. Aspergillus and pencillium species were found insensitive to all test extracts where as Candida albicans was found sensitive only to the hexane extract. Sterols and triterpenes were revealed on phytochemical analysis. The antifungal activity of camel faeces might be due to the sterols and triterpenes. Thus, identification and characterization of novel molecules are highly recommended. The study revealed first report on the use of camel faeces to treat some fungal infections