Chemical Composition and The Potential Biological Activities Of Piper Betel – A Review

Piper betel is a member of the family Piperaceae, commonly known as Sirih (Malaysia and Indonesia), Paan (India and Bangladesh), Betel (English) and Phlu (Thailand). It is widely found and grown in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, other Southeast Asian and East African countries. Piper betel is widely used throughout the world even in modern days due to its known medicinal properties. Betel plant contains various biologically active compounds, which are responsible for its numerous pharmacological actions. The medicinal profile reveals Piper betel to have a high potential for treating many diseases and conditions. Further studies of betel plant are recommended to focus on the variety of metabolic activities in human, thus, improving its usage medically that will be beneficial to mankind

Ultra-Morphological Changes of Trichophyton Rubrum Treated with Hydroxychavicol

Trichophyton rubrum is a common pathogenic fungal species that is responsible for causing infection on human skin, hair and nail. The antifungal-resistant strains complicate the treatment regime. Hydroxychavicol (HC) is one of the main compounds from Piper betel leaf that have antifungal potential and its mechanism of action has not been studied yet. The objective of this preliminary study to determine the antifungal properties of HC against T. rubrum using transmission electron microscope (TEM) on gross and ultrastructure of T. rubrum hypha. T. rubrum was treated with HC and miconazole (MI) at concentrations of 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/mL for 1, 3, 5 and 7 days continuously. Generally, fungi structures became more severely damaged at increasing treatment duration. Microscopically, the fungi’s cell wall treated with HC showed a rough surface, shrinkage and demolition similar to the MI treated group. The fungi organelles were also demolished and disorganized. This study revealed that HC has the ability to inhibit T. rubrum growth and has potential to be an antifungal agent for skin infections