The Effect of Morinda citrifolia Ethanolic Extract against Malassezia globosa Obtained from the Scalp of Individuals between the Ages of 18-24 in Guyana

Dandruff, a common scalp condition affecting 50% of the world’s population, is mainly caused by the fungus M. globosa. In this study, the antifungal effect of M. citrifolia, commonly known as noni, was tested against M. globosa. M. citrifolia fruit, leaf, and stem contain phytochemicals including alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, and glycosides. Extracts of the three plant parts were obtained by maceration method using ethanol, and prepared in concentrations of 100%, 75%, 50% and 25%. The scalps of 6 individuals were swabbed to obtain a sample of M. globosa. The susceptibility of M. globosa to M. citrifolia extracts was tested in triplicate using the disc diffusion method, and a measure of the extent of susceptibility was ascertained by the size of the inhibition zones. It was found that of the 3 extracts, noni fruit showed the highest inhibitory effect with 20/48 discs having inhibition zones, noni stem showed moderate inhibition with 12/48 inhibition zones, while noni leaf exhibited no inhibition zones, indicating its lack of inhibitory effect against M. globosa. Notably, noni fruit at 100% and 75% concentrations proved to be most effective against M. globosa, and at 25% concentrations, noni stem was most effective. However, statistical analysis using both ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis tests indicated that the observed data was insignificant since the p-values were > 0.05. It can therefore be concluded that noni fruit, leaf, and stem extracts have little to no significant inhibitory effect on the growth of M. globosa, notwithstanding, a change in various experimental factors including agar type and extract preparation may prove otherwise.