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

The study investigated the antidermatophytic effects of Urtica dioica L. against Microsporum canis using both in vitro methods and a guinea pig model. The results showed that the plant extracts did not exhibit significant antifungal activity compared to terbinafine. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts were 30 and 20 mg/ml, respectively. However, the SN30% group, which received 30% hydroalcohol extract, 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% formulation 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.