Antimicrobial effect of Prangos ferulacea aqueous extract on some pathogenic fungal species and its interaction with nystatin antibiotic

Prangos ferulacea is a plant that has been used in traditional medicine for its therapeutic properties. The present study was conducted to investigate the antifungal effect of P. ferulacea aqueous extract on Alternaria alternata, Alternaria solani, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Fusarium solani. The antifungal methods used were disc diffusion agar, well diffusion agar, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC). The extract concentrations used in the study were 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg/mL. The study found that the antifungal effect was concentration-dependent and increased with concentration. S. cerevisiae was the most sensitive species to the extract while F. solani was the most resistant. At 80 mg/mL, the inhibition zones for S. cerevisiae were found to be 11.90 mm and 13.00 mm in disc diffusion agar and well diffusion agar methods, respectively. The corresponding zones were 9.60 mm and 10.20 mm for F. solani, respectively. In the combined mode (interaction) of P. ferulacea aqueous extract with nystatin antibiotic, synergistic mode was observed for all fungal strains. The MIC and MFC values for S. cerevisiae were 32 and 128 mg/mL, respectively. The MIC and MFC results for F. solani were found to 256 and > 512 mg/mL, respectively. The results of this study showed that P. ferulacea aqueous extract could be used as a natural antifungal agent to inhibit the growth of pathogenic fungi on fresh fruits and vegetables.