Isolasi dan Uji Aktivitas Antijamur Ekstrak Etanol dan N-Heksan Tanaman Ciplukan (Physalis Angulata L.) terhadap Jamur Patogen Klinis

Abstract

Ciplukan (Physalis angulata L.) is a medicinal plant that contains secondary metabolites with potential as an alternative to synthetic antibiotics for antifungal therapy. This study aimed to determine the phytochemical composition and antifungal activity of ethanol and n-hexane extracts of Physalis angulata against the growth of clinical pathogenic fungi. Pathogenic fungi were isolated from patient specimens at Prof. Dr. Chairuddin Panusunan Lubis Hospital and subsequently characterized based on their macroscopic morphological features. Dried Physalis angulata plant material was extracted with ethanol and n-hexane, and the antifungal activity of the extracts was evaluated against clinical pathogenic fungi at concentrations of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% using the disc diffusion method. The isolation of pathogenic fungi from patient samples yielded four fungal species belonging to two genera: Candida and Cryptococcus. Phytochemical screening revealed that both ethanol and n-hexane extracts of Physalis angulata contained alkaloids, steroids/triterpenoids, flavonoids, and glycosides; however, tannins and saponins were detected only in the ethanol extract. The antifungal activity assay demonstrated that the ethanol extract of Physalis angulata exhibited greater inhibitory effects on the growth of clinical pathogenic fungi. Increasing concentrations of both ethanol and n-hexane extracts resulted in larger inhibition zone diameters, with optimal activity at 20%. The ethanol extract produced the largest inhibition zone diameter of 18.17 mm. In contrast, the n-hexane extract showed weak antifungal activity, with a maximum inhibition zone diameter of 6.97 mm at the same concentration. Overall, the ethanol extract of Physalis angulata demonstrated significantly greater antifungal activity than the n-hexane extract. Although the 20% concentration of both extracts exhibited the highest inhibitory effect, their antifungal activity remained lower than that of fluconazole.