Anti-Candida albicans activity and brine shrimp lethality test of Hevea brasiliensis latex B-serum.

Background and Objectives: Hevea brasiliensis extracts could potentially be employed as a relatively low cost resource for various anti-fungal activities due to the simplici - ty of the extract preparation and its abundance especially in the tropical region. Latex B-serum was reported to have anti-cancer property and its specificity in anti-fungal property has not been elucidated. The present study was con - ducted to determine the anti-fungal activity of Hevea latex B-serum against Candida (C.) albi - cans (a rounded cell fungus) and Aspergillus (A.) niger (a filamentous fungus). Methods and Results: The results showed that the anti-fungal activity of latex B-serum was specific to C. albicans but not to A. niger . The MIC value of latex B-serum for C. albicans was found to be 2.5 mg/ml. The time-killing profile showed that the growth of C. albicans was inhib - ited and the inhibition was prolonged through - out the tested time period. Brine shrimp toxicity test showed an LC 50 of 461.0 mg/ml with latex B- serum, indicating the non-toxicity of the serum. Conclusion: Further purification and identifi - cation of the crude extract should point the way to bioactive compound(s) responsible for anti- Candida activity.