March 02, 2024| Narra J |
Research carried out by Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia, and Babcock University, Nigeria, tackles the increasing challenge of antifungal resistance in Candida albicans infections by investigating the antifungal properties of durian fruit peels (Durio zibethinus Murray). This research aimed to determine the antifungal activity of D. zibethinus peel extract against C. albicans by analyzing its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC).
The study, conducted from July to October 2020, involved collecting durian peels from Simalungun Regency, Medan, Indonesia, and extracting them using a maceration technique with 70% ethanol to obtain D. zibethinus peel ethanol extract (DPEE). C. albicans samples were obtained from the Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sumatera Utara. The antifungal activity was assessed using the diffusion method with six groups exposed to different concentrations of DPEE (6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, and 50%), along with ketoconazole (positive control) and dimethyl sulfoxide (negative control). The inhibition zones were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test.
The results showed that the 6.25% DPEE concentration produced the largest inhibition zone (17.26±5.64 mm) and significant differences were observed among the DPEE concentrations (p<0.05). The study also found that the MIC of DPEE was 0.78% and the MBC was 3.125% against C. albicans. These findings suggest that D. zibethinus ethanol extract has potential antifungal activity against C. albicans, warranting further investigation for more precise antifungal applications.