Effects of crude drugs and berberine hydrochloride on the activities of fungi.

The effects of crude drugs on fungi have been used for a thousand years in China and Japan. These drugs include: Saussureae radix, Magnoliae cortex, Cinnamomi cortex, Hydrangeae dulcis folium, and Artemisiae capillarius flos. The activity of Coptidis rhizoma and Phellodendri cortex was stronger than other crude drugs against the three fungi. Berberine hydrochloride, which is a component of the two crude drugs, was investigated. Minimal inhibitory concentration values of berberine hydrochloride were 1, 0.125, and 0.5 mg/ml against Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. glabrata, respectively. In C. glabrata, compared with C. albicans and C. tropicalis, berberine hydrochloride greatly inhibited the growth of fungi.