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Antifungal properties of Musa paradisiaca (Plantain) peel and stalk extracts
Abstract
appropriate doses can be used in food preservation and to treat infections caused by this spoilage fungi. The results further justify the claim that Musa paradisiaca (L) stalk and peel extract demonstrated antifungal action
in which methanol was seen to be a better solvent for extracting active ingredients from medicinal plants considering the high susceptibility of test organisms to methanol extract than ethanol extract used in this study.
Phytochemical screening showed the presence of hydrogen cyanide, tannin, alkaloid, steroid, saponin and flavonoid. The growth inhibition of A. niger, A. oryzae and R. stolonifer by Musa paradisiaca peel and stalk methanol and ethanol extract in this study suggest the presence of antifungal substance in the plant tissue and the possibility of using the extract to control plant pathogens especially where the spoilage fungi used in this
study are involved.