Isolation and characterization of hexane fraction from Vernonanthura patens (Kunth) H. Rob leaves with antifungal action

Introduction: the Ecuadorian folk medicine uses the coction from Vernonanthura pathens (Rob H. Kunth) leaves to treat, malaria, pain before and after childbirth, stomachache, skin rashes, diarrheas and parasitism. Objectives: to examine the presence of antifungal activity in fractions obtained from a methanol extract from V. patens leaves. Methods: the methanol extract from the leaves was fractionated by column chromatography using the following solvent systems: hexane, hexane/ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate and ethyl acetate/methanol. Antifungal activity was measured by the agar diffusion technique with PDA medium in 5 mm wells, by adding 20 µL fractions at concentrations of 100 and 200 µg/mL dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide. The active fraction was analyzed for structural identification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: of the fractions obtained, only the 100 percent hexane fraction showed antifungal activity, since its inhibitory percentages were 57.6 and 80.2 percent against Penicillium notatum and 64.8 and 81.5 percent vs. Fusaryum oxysporum on the fifteenth day of incubation. The structures of 29 compounds were suggested to be the constituents of the hexane fraction, most of them hydrocarbons. Conclusions: the presence of antifungal activity in the 100 percent hexane fraction was proved, which can extend the medicinal uses of the studied plant and to enrich the Ecuadorian folk medicine