Study of Crude Extract from Lakoocha Heartwood against Isolated Fungus

The extract of heartwood and bark from lakoocha (Artocarpus lakoocha Roxb.) have pharmacollogical properties and antioxidant activities. These extracts have also been reported to exhibit antibacterial activity against a wide range of bacteria. However, there are a few studies on antifungal activity of lakoocha heartwood extract. This research aims to study the preliminary study of the effects of crude extract from A. lakoocha heartwood (CElaH) against the growth of fungi, which isolated from peanuts. A. lakoocha heartwood powder was extracted with 70% ethanol by Soxhlet extraction method to achieve crude extract. Fungi isolation was performed by direct plating method. The isolated fungus was white colony with dark-brown spores. It has conidia head and pyriform vesicle observed under a microscope. Therefore, Aspergillus sp. was expected as the isolated fungus. Effect of CElaH on growth of isolated fungus was determined by poison food technique under different concentrations (1-5 mg/ml). The highest percentage of fungal growth inhibition at 5 mg/ml CElaH on PDA and PDB mediums were 40.80% and 86.53%, respectively. The toxicity of the extract toward fungus was examined by transferring fungal disks from PDA mediums with 4 and 5 mg/ml CElaH to PDA mediums without CElaH. Results showed that fungus still alive and grow normally. Eventually, CElaH was natural plant extract, which tend to use an alternative compound to inhibit the growth of fungi.