Abstract

The tea polyphenols have been shown to possess many medicinal properties including antifungal activity, but there have been few studies regarding antifungal activity. The antifungal activity of tea polyphenols was evaluated on Candida albicans ATCC 90028 and a clinical isolate of Cryptococcus neoformans employing the disc diffusion assay. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the tea polyphenols against C. albicansATCC 90028 and a clinical isolate of C. neoformans was determined. Tea polyphenols showed antifungal activity against C. albicans ATCC 90028 and a clinical isolate of C. neoformans and both demonstrated an MIC of 1 mg/ml after 24 h. Both fungus were found to be sensitive to tea all tea extracts (p<0.05). The inhibition zone diameters significantly (p<0.05) and positively correlated to the catechins (EGCG and EGC), total TFs and total TRs. The study reveals the antifungal properties of green, white and black tea products from Kenyan germplasm that may find therapeutic applications in future.

Key words: Tea polyphenols, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans.