In vitro Effects of Three Metallic Salts and Carbon Black (Soot) on the Growth of Five Species of the Dermatophytes

The antifungal effects of zinc chloride (Zn Cl2) calcium chloride (CaCl2), magnesium chloride (MgCl2) as well as soot collected from a local kitchen were tested on five isolated species of the dermatophytes from cases of human dermatophytoses. Of these three metallic salts, ZnCl2 showed the highest inhibitory effect on the dermatophytes. At a concentration of 0.01M it showed 100% inhibitory effect on these fungi. Although the other two metallic salts showed some inhibitory effect on these fungi, CaCl2 at concentration between 0.01M and 1.0M showed only 50% inhibitory effect while MgCl2 at concentration between 0.1M and 1.0M showed less that 50% inhibitory effect on the fungi. Also soot inhibited the growth of all the dermatophytes tested at concentration between 0.1 and 2%. Trichophyton rubrum and Microsporum audouinii appeared to be most sensitive to these compounds than the other three species which include T. tonsurans and M. gypseum. Jnl Med. Investigation & Practice Vol. 3 2001: 31-3