Antifungal activity of Karanja taila on Indralupt w.s.r. to alopecia: An in vitro study

Abstract

Introduction: “Karanja taila” is an oleaginous medicament indicated in Indralupt, whereby Indralupt disease
can be correlated with Alopecia areata of Biomedical Science. There are many reasons of alopecia-like genetic
cause, lack of nutrition, tension, and infection. However, in the present study, much emphasis has been laid on
the “infective cause,” which if persist for a long time can cause hair loss. Material and Methods: Antifungal
activity of three different samples (S1, S2, and S3) of Karanja taila (S1, S2, and S3) prepared as per the reference
of Sharangdhara Samhita was conducted on pathogens that causes alopecia, namely, Trichophyton tonsurans,
Microsporum canis, Trichophyton rubrum, and Microsporum audouinii using well diffusion method. Culture of
the above-defined fungi was taken and medicated oil at room temperature was applied on it. After a specific time
period, the zone of inhibition was noted to calculate the effectiveness of the drug. Observation and Results:
The inhibition zone in Samples S1, S2, and S3 and positive control (5% w/w vancomycin) against pathogenic
strains T. tonsurans, T. rubrum, M. canis, M. audouinii found to be (17, 14, 15, 17 [S1]), (16, 15, 17, 16 [S2])
(15, 14, 16, 17 [S3]) (25, 23, 29, 31 [positive control]) respectively. The activity index in Samples S1, S2, and S3
for pathogenic strains T. tonsurans, T. rubrum, M. canis, M. audouinii found to be (0.68, 0.61, 0.52, 0.55 [S1]),
(0.64,0.65,0.59,0.52 [S2]) (0.60, 0.61, 0.55, 0.55 [S3]) respectively. Conclusion: The activity index of all the
samples against the specified fungi is >0.5, which depicts their profound effect on alopecia.