In Vitro Efficacy of Some Medicinal Plant Extracts against Aspergillus Niger – A Disease Causing Plant Fungus

Abstract

Medicinal plants have been used in the prevention, treatment, and cure disorders and diseases in ancient times and they provide abundant resources of antimicrobial compounds, has been used for centuries to inhibit the microbial growth. Diseases of medicinal plants were caused by the pathogenic microbes: especially fungi are common throughout the world. Microbial diseases of plants cause malfunctions such as disturb normal functions by degrading enzymes, toxin, and growth substances, reduce the yield, survival capacity, and resulting to death. In recent times, the medicinal plants were affected by exogenous, endogenous, and microbial infections. The medicinal plant Argemone mexicana L. (Mexican poppy) is an annual exotic weed flora used for medicine in several countries throughout the world and chosen for this study. This plant was frequently affected by many fungal pathogens. The present investigation focuses the isolation of frequent disease causing fungal pathogen (Aspergillus niger) from infected leaves and their control measures by using herbal extracts (Andrographis paniculata and Phyla nodiflora, Acalypha indica) via. In vitro approach.

Keywords: Argemone mexicana, exotic weed, exogenous, endogenous, pathogen, toxin