Bioaktivitas in Vitro Ekstrak Etanol Biji Pinang Terhadap Jamur Candida albicans

Abstract

Areca nut (Areca catechu L) is traditionally used to treat wounds, bleeding, urinary tract infections, leg pain, and worms. Modern research studies, areca nut, has a pharmacological effect as an antifungal. This study aims to determine the ability of the ethanol extract of areca nut to grow the fungus Candida albicans. The peeled seeds are dried in the sun for 7-10 days and, after drying, crushed into powder. Phytochemical extraction using maceration method using ethanol. Extracts were obtained using a rotary vacuum evaporator. The antifungal inhibition test used the Kirby Bauer method. The clear zone formed was measured using a caliper. The precise zone diameter was analyzed using the non-parametric Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test. The inhibition test results of the ethanol extract of areca nut showed descriptively that the ethanol extract had the inhibitory ability against the fungus C. albicans. Statistical analysis of all concentration levels had a significant effect in inhibiting fungal growth. Further tests showed that the concentrations of 20g/ml and 80g/ml and 60g/ml and 80g/ml had a significance value of <0.05, which means that there were different effects in inhibiting the growth of the fungus C. albicans. This study concludes that the ethanol extract of areca nut seeds can inhibit the growth of the fungus C. albicans.