Antifungal Activity of Kiwa Peel Extract Against Aspergillus Species
Downloads
Background: The emergence of fungal resistance to the classical antifungal agents has driven a quest for new resources among natural products. Some by-products from the agro-food industry, such as fruit peels, are a good source of bioactive compounds that can have effects on microorganisms. In the present investigation, we analysed antifungal properties of Kiwa peel extract (KPE) toward five Aspergillus species. Method: Kiwa peel extract was extracted and in vitro tested against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus terreus with the help of agar well diffusion method. Various concentrations of extract (62.5–1000 μg/mL) were tested. The antifungal activity was evaluated by measuring the size of inhibition zones, and possible significance was analysed with one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc test. A significance level of P < 0.05 was applied. Results: KPE had concentration-dependent, significant anti-Aspergillus activity against all species tested. Maximum zones of inhibition were observed with the highest concentration (1000 µg/mL), and they significantly differed from lower concentrations (P < 0.0001). A. niger and A. flavus were slightly more susceptible than A. terreus out of the tested fungi. Conclusion: Our results showed that the ethanolic extract from KIWA peels had strong antifungal activity against pathogenic Aspergillus species and this is expected to be attributed largely to its phytochemicals. Kiwa peel, an agricultural waste material, can be considered as a potential natural antifungal agent, which is efficient and environmentally friendly. More experiments should be carried out to identify and examine the mechanisms of these active compounds in vivo.
1. Md Razibul Hasan , Mst. Elina Akther Zenat, Natasha Nafisa Haque.(2024). Antifungal Activity of Various Plant Extracts against Aspergillus and Penicillium Species Isolated from Leather-Borne Fungus.• Microbiology Research Journal International 34(1):10-23.DOI:10.9734/mrji/2024/v34i11422
2. Realini CE, Pavan E, Johnson PL, Font-i-Furnols M, Jacob N, Agnew M, Moon CD. Consumer liking of M. longissimus lumborum from New Zealand pasture-finished lamb is influenced by intramuscular fat. Meat Science. 2021;173: 108380.
3. Kholif AE, Olafadehan OA. Dietary strategies to enrich milk with healthy fatty acids–A review. Annals of Animal Science. 2022;22(2):523-536.
4. Valentina V, Daghio M, Alice C, Buccioni A, Andrea S, Viti C, Marcello M. Plant polyphenols and rumen microbiota responsible for fatty acid biohydrogenation, fiber digestion, and methane emission: Experimental evidence and methodological approaches. journal of dairy science. 2019;102:3781-3804
5. Haq MNU, Shah GM, Menaa F, Khan RA, Althobaiti NA, Albalawi AE, Alkreathy HM. Green silver nanoparticles synthesised from Taverniera couneifolia elicits effective anti-diabetic effect in alloxan-induced diabetic wistar rats. Nanomaterials. 2022; 12(7).
6. Maung CEH, Lee HG, Cho JY, Kim KY. Antifungal compound, methyl hippurate from Bacillus velezensis CE 100 and its inhibitory effect on the growth of Botrytis cinerea. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2021;37:1-10. 10. Rahayu I, Timotius KH. Phytochemical Analysis, Antimutagenic and antiviral activity of Moringa oleifera L. leaf infusion: In Vitro and in silico studies. Molecules. 2022;27(13):4017.
7. CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute). (2017). Reference Method for Broth Dilution Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of Filamentous Fungi; M38-A3.
8. (Raper, K. B., & Fennell, D. I. (1965). The Genus Aspergillus. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.).
9. Ahmed, M. E., Saleh, I. A., Al-Masri, H. A., Hamoud, Y. A., Okla, M. K., & Shaghaleh, H. (2025). Green Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles from Kiwi Peel: Antibacterial Properties and the Role of MexY Gene Expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Efflux Pumps. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 1-24. doi: 10.1007/s12010-025-05354-6
10. Ahmed, M. E., Hasoon, B. A., Ahmed, H. Y., Abdul-Wahed, H. E., Jabir, M. S., Ghotekar, S., & Swelum, A. A. (2025). Investigation the synergistic effect of chitosan and iron oxide nanoparticles against multidrug-resistant Proteus mirabilis: inhibition of the rsbA gene and insilico evaluation study. Inorganic Chemistry Communications, 115130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inoche.2025.115130].
11. Perfect, J. R. (2017). The antifungal pipeline: a reality check. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 16, 603–616.Nat Rev Drug Discov .2017 Sep;16(9):603-616. doi: 10.1038/nrd.2017.46
12. Cowen, L. E., Leah , Dominique Sanglard, Susan J Howard, P David Rogers 4, David S Perlin (2014). Mechanisms of antifungal drug resistance. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine, 5, a019752.. 2014 Nov 10;5(7):a019752. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a019752 .
13. Richard A Dixon 1, Lahoucine Achnine, Parvathi Kota, Chang-Jun Liu, M S Srinivasa Reddy, Liangjiang Wang.(2002). The phenylpropanoid pathway and plant defence. Nature, 411, 843–847.Mol Plant Pathol .2002 Sep 1;3(5):371-90. doi: 10.1046/j.1364-3703.2002.00131.x.
