Study of antifungal activity of Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reiss., Celastraceae. Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reiss., Celastraceae, known as espinheira-santa, is native to South America, and in southern Brazil its leaves decoction is traditionally used for the treatment of gastritis, ulcers and other gastrointestinal disorders. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of the crude ethanolic extract of espinheira-santa on the mycelial growth of three phytopathogenical fungi: Colletotrichum acutatum, Fusarium oxysporum and Cylindrocladium spathulatum. It was observed that this extract inhibited in more than 10% the mycelial growth of Fusarium oxysporum at all used concentrations (0.2; 0.4 and 0.6 mg/mL), stimulated the Colletotrichum acutatum mycelial growth in more than 30% at 0.2 mg/mL and some of its fractions inhibited the Cylindrocladium spathulatum development.
Maytenus ilicifolia; Fusarium oxysporum; Colletotrichum acutatum; Cylindrocladium spathulatum; espinheira-santa; antifungal activity