Antifungal activity of selected spices against Aspergillus niger

In the present study, aqueous extracts of seven commonly used spices namely, Trachyspermum ammi, Piper nigrum, Cinnamomum verum, Cuminum cyminum, Foeniculum vulgare, Nigella sativa and Laurus nobilis were tested for their antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger. All these seven selected spices showed significant inhibition of mycelial growth at both 10 and 20% concentrations when compared to control. However, cinnamon showed the highest inhibition percentage of 39.9% and 59.4% at 10 and 20% concentrations, respectively. The antifungal activity of cinnamon essential oil was also evaluated at 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20% concentrations. It was found that the inhibition increased with increase in concentration. Maximum inhibition of cinnamon oil was found at 0.20%. Phytochemical screening of the selected spices were carried out by means of qualitative analysis. Glycosides, steroids and terpenoids were found as the principal active compounds in the spices. Results showed that the spices possessed antifungal activity and can be exploited as natural bio fungicide to control the growth of A. niger to reduce the use of synthetic fungicides.