Antifungal Activity Test of Ethanol Extracts and Ethyl Acetate and N-Hexane Fraction of Sea Grapes (Caulerpa Racemosa) on the Growth of the Fungi Trichophyton mentagrophytes

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sea grape (Caulerpa racemosa) is one of the marine plants that produce active compounds that can be used as medicinal ingredients with antifungal properties to inhibit fungal growth. AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the ethanolic extract of the ethyl acetate fraction and n-Hexane of sea grapes taken from Kampung Terih, Riau Islands could inhibit the growth of the fungus Trichophyton mentagrophytes. METHODS: The antifungal activity was tested using the paper disk diffusion method with variant concentrations of ethanol extract, namely, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, ethyl acetate and n-hexane fractions were 20,000 ppm, 30,000 ppm, 40,000 ppm, and 50,000 ppm. RESULTS: The results showed that the ethanolic extract of sea grapes could inhibit the growth of T. mentagrophytes fungus with the formation of an average diameter at each concentration of 0 mm; 3.4 mm; 5.4 mm; and 8.4 mm. The ethyl acetate fraction of Sea grapes formed an average diameter at each concentration of 9.7 mm; 11.51 mm; 13.5 mm; 15.8 mm. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that the ethanol extract and the ethyl acetate fraction of sea grapes could inhibit the fungus T. mentagrophytes with moderate inhibition, while the n-hexane fraction of sea grapes could not inhibit the fungus T. mentagrophytes.