Abstract:
Plumbago europaea L. is a plant utilized in Palestinian ethnomedicine for the treatment of various
dermatological diseases. The current investigation was designed to isolate plumbagin from P. europaea leaves, roots and
for the first time from the stems. Moreover, it aimed to evaluate the antimycotic activity against three human fungal
pathogens causing dermatophytosis, also against an animal fungal pathogen. The qualitative analysis of plumbagin from
the leaves, stems, and roots was conducted using HPLC and spectrophotometer techniques, while the structure of
plumbagin was established utilizing Proton and Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Infrared (IR)
techniques. The entire plant constituents were determined by GC-MS. Moreover, the antimycotic activity against
Ascosphaera apis, Microsporum canis, Trichophyton rubrum, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes was assessed utilizing
the poison food technique method. The percentage of plumbagin recorded in the leaves, stems, and roots was found to be
0.51±0.001%, 0.16±0.001%, and 1.65±0.015%, respectively. The GC-MS examination declared the presence of 59
molecules in the plant extract. The plant extract and pure plumbagin exhibited complete inhibition against all tested
dermatophytes at 6.0mg/mL for the extracts and 0.2mg/mL for plumbagin. P. europaea root is the best source of
plumbagin and the plant extract could represent a potential drug candidate for the treatment of dermatophytosis
infections. Further studies required to design suitable dosage forms from the natural P. europaea root extracts or
plumbagin alone, to be utilized for the treatment of dermatological and veterinary ailments.
