Screening of Malian medicinal plants for antifungal, larvicidal, molluscicidal, antioxidant and radical scavenging activities.

A total of 78 different extracts from 20 medicinal plants belonging to 14 plant families from Mali were tested for their antifungal, larvicidal, molluscicidal, antioxidant and radical scavenging activities. Dichloromethane, methanol, water and ethanol extracts were used. TLC autobiography for antifungal activity was run with Cladosporium cucumerinum and Candida albicans. Extracts were also tested on the larvae of the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti, Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus. Molluscicidal activities were established with the snails Biomphalaria glabrata, Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Bulinus truncatus. beta-Carotene and DPPH solutions sprayed on TLC plates were used for antioxidant and radical scavenging assays. Of the extracts investigated, 20% were antioxidant and radical scavengers, 19% fungicidal, 30% were larvicidal and 11% were molluscicidal. Three of the plant extracts, from Cussonia barteri (Araliaceae), Glinus oppositifolius (Aïzoaceae) and Lannea velutina (Anacardiaceae) gave positive responses in all four tests. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.