STUDY ON MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF CANDIDA ALBICANS TREATED WITH DICHLOROMETHANE PIPER BETLE LEAVES EXTRACT

Abstract

Piper betleis a medicinal plant that can be easily found in South and East Asia countries. Its
leaves have been reported to contain several bioactive compounds which have potential to be utilized as
alternative antimicrobial agent. The increasing of antifungal drug resistance among Candida species has
become emerging threat due to the lack of treatment options. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of
P. betleleaves as a natural anti-fungal agent against the growth and morphology of C. albicans.Materials and
methods: P. betlewas soaked indichloromethane (DCM) solvent and serially diluted to obtain the different
concentrations (500-0.98 mg/ml). Disc diffusion was used to determine the sensitivity of C. albicans towards
DCM extract of P. betle. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration
(MFC) values were obtained by using broth microdilution method. The morphological changes of C.
albicans treated with MIC value wasobserved under scanning electron microscope (SEM). Result:
Thesensitivity result showed C. albicans was to be sensitive towards the P. betle extract. The MIC and MFC
values of P. betel extract against C. albicans were 3.91 mg/ml and 7.82 mg/ml respectively. Morphological
studyhad shownthe structural of C. albicans change in structure and the blastomycete wall was destroyed.
Conclusion: This study showed that the extract of P. betlewas effective against C. albicansby destroying the
C. albicans structure.