Antimycotic Activity Potentiation of Allium sativum Extract and Silver Nanoparticles against Trichophyton rubrum.

A natural and biocompatible extract of garlic as a support, decorated with silver nanoparticles, is a proposal to generate an effective antifungal agent against dermatophytes at low concentrations. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with a diameter of 26±7 nm were synthesized and their antimycotic activity was examined against Trichophyton rubrum (T. rubrum), inhibiting 94 % of growth at a concentration of 0.08 mg ml . Allium sativum (garlic) extract was also obtained (AsExt), and its MIC was 0.04 mg ml . To increase the antifungal capacity of those systems, AsExt was decorated with AgNPs, obtaining AsExt-AgNPs. Using an AsExt concentration of 0.04 mg ml in independent experiments with concentrations from 0.01 to 0.08 mg ml of AgNPs, it was possible to inhibit T. rubrum at all AgNPs concentrations; it proves a synergistic effect between AgNPs and AsExt. Even if 1 % of the minimum inhibitory concentration of AsExt (0.0004 mg ml ) is used, it was possible to inhibit T. rubrum at all concentrations of AgNPs, demonstrating the successful antimycotic activity potentiation when combining AsExt and AgNPs.