Extraction and Evaluation of Antifungal Compounds against Mucormycosis and Aspergillosis from Thai Herbal GPO Products Used for COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

The affecting of current COVID-19 epidemic in patients complication with COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) and COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) results in fatal and life-threatening. Andrographis paniculata (AP) and Curcuma longa (CL) herbal products by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization are used as an alternative treatment for COVID-19 patients while the antifungal activity data are still unknown. We aimed to test the antifungal activity of herbal products against CAM and CAPA pathogenic fungi together with suitable solvent extraction of active compounds from both products. A screening antifungal activity test using powder of AP and CL ( 200 mg/mL) in hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and methanol was conducted with agar toxicity method against five pathogenic fungi: Rhizopus sp., Absidia sp., Mucor sp., Aspergillus fumigatusand A. flavus. The results showed that CL powder in ethyl acetate produced better antifungal effect than AP. The highest inhibition effect on A. fumigatus was detected with the mycelial growth inhibition (MGI) of 100%. For the extraction with partition method, % yield of CL with methanol was 24.35 % and 18.24 % from AP crude extracts. The crude extracts ( 0.6 mg/mL) in 1% DMSO were tested for antifungal activity by disc diffusion method. The crude extract from CL could inhibit the mycelial growth of 4 species of fungi, Mucor sp. Absidia sp. A. flavas and A. fumigatus. The highest effect was on A. fumigatus with an inhibition zone of 12.10 mm while AP could not show any effect against the tested fungi. The antifungal properties of AP and CL herbal products here supported and added value to Thai medicinal herbs used in alternative treatments for COVID-19 patients infected with opportunistic fungi that may be found in COVID-19 patients in the future.