Assessment of Antidermatophytic Activities of Urtica Dioica L Against Microsporum Canis in a Guinea Pig Model

The study assessed the antidermatophytic effects of Urtica dioica L. against Microsporum canis using both in vitro methods and a guinea pig model. The results indicated that the plant extracts did not exhibit significant antifungal activity compared to terbinafine, a standard antifungal treatment. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for the aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts were 30 mg/ml and 20 mg/ml, respectively. However, the group treated with 30% hydroalcoholic extract (SN30%) showed normal hair growth and healthier skin by day 30 post-inoculation, similar to the positive control group treated with terbinafine. The clinical efficacy of the SN30% group was 76.47% compared to 94.11% for the positive control. The study concluded that the hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica dioica L. could potentially be developed as an adjunct remedy for the topical treatment of tinea corporis.