Antidermatophytic activities were assayed using agar dilution method. The acute and sub-acute toxicities

of oral administrations of the extract were studied in rodents. Results: The crude extract of C. edulis displayed antidermatophytic activity against the tested microorganisms with Transmembrane Transporters inhibitor highest activity against Microsporum audouinii and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The fractionation enhanced the antidermatophytic activity in fraction F3 (MIC=0.62-1.25 mg/ml) compared to the crude extract (MIC=1.25-5 mg/ml). Further fractionation and purification of the fractions F2 and Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical F3 gave respectively 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside of sitosterol (MIC=0.20-0.40 mg/ml) and a mixture of β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and n-hexadecanoid acid (MIC=0.80 mg/ml).

The median lethal doses (LD50) of the crude extract were 16.8 and 19.6 g/kg body weight (BW) in male and female mice, respectively. At 200 mg/kg BW, there Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical was a decrease in body weight gain, food and water consumptions. Gross anatomical analysis revealed white vesicles on the liver of the rats treated with the extract at 200 mg/kg BW. This dose also induced significant (P<0.05) changes on hematological and biochemical Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical parameters in rats after 28 days of treatment. Conclusion: These data suggest that the CH2Cl2-MeOH (1:1 v/v) extract of C. edulis stem bark possesses antidermatophytic properties. They also show that at high doses (≥ 200 mg/kg BW), the extract has significant hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic activities. Key Words: Coula edulis, fractionation, toxicity, antidermatophytic Introduction Dermatophytosis is a group of skin fungal Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical infections caused by dermatophytes

(or ring worms), which invade and attack keratinized tissues. Typical symptoms of these infections include inflammation or redness of the infected part, brittleness and fissures of the nails, and loss of hair from the affected parts. A large number of antifungal agents such as griseofulvin, azole derivatives, allylamines and morpholines are used in the treatment of dermatophyte infections. However, they have been shown to exhibit adverse side effects such as gastrointestinal disturbances, cutaneous reactions, hepatotoxicity and Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical leucopoenia.1-2 In addition to such adverse effects, the acquired resistance to certain antifungals,2 and the high cost of synthetic drugs limit the treatment of dermatophytosis. Because of their biodegradable nature, the demand for natural drugs has been increasing, and therefore, many the development of antifungal agents from local raw material is still a necessity. This is particularly true in the cases developing countries, which have high levels of their populations. Coula edulis Bail (Olacaceae), locally known as “African walnut”, is a commonly occurring medicinal plant in Africa. It is an evergreen tree growing to a height of 25-. It can be found in the top canopy of forests as well as the lower story, and has no special soil requirements. Ethnobotanical studies indicate that the stem and fruits of C.