ANTIMYCOTICS IN CERTAIN TAXA OF EUPHORBIACEAE

There is a lot of thrust on utilization of bioactive chemicals from plant systems and their significant effect on microorganisms.  Ten species of plants of the family Euphorbiaceae have been used for our study they are, Croton bonpandianum, Euphorbia tirucalli, E. hirta, E. heterophylla,   Jatropha curcas, J. glandulifera, J. multifida, Phyllanthus amarus, Ricinus cummunis, Pedilanthus tithymaloides. Most of the family members of Euphorbiaceae have unique feature of possessing latex in their plant body. This latex is a secondary metabolite and hence has no significant physiological role in the plant system. An attempt has been made to find whether the plant extracts prepared in water have any role against fungi.  These fungi are pathogenic to both plants and animals. The stem and leaves are thoroughly washed in 1% mercuric chloride and later washed in tap water followed by   double distilled water. Later on crushed in mortar and pestle using water.  The fungal species used for our study are Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Fusarium oxysporum.  The extracts are directly used for their antimycotic activity. Most of the plant extracts of Euphorbiaceae showed   inhibition of growth of the fungi but for few exceptions. The study envisages to find new biodegradable pesticides, presently which are necessary to control plant diseases.