Comparison Of The Antifungal Activity Of Ethanolic Extracts From Leaves, Peel, And Seeds Of Gnetum Gnemon L. Against Candida albicans

Background: Infections caused by Candida albicans remain a health concern, creating a need for natural antifungal alternatives. Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) is known to contain secondary metabolites with potential antifungal activity Aim: This study aimed to compare the antifungal activity of ethanol extracts of melinjo leaves, skin, and seeds against Candida albicans and to determine the plant part with the most effective antifungal activity based on the inhibition zone diameter. Methode: This laboratory experimental study employed the disk diffusion method. Extraction was performed using maceration with 96% ethanol, followed by phytochemical screening and antifungal activity testing against Candida albicans. Result: Data were analyzed using the Shapiro–Wilk test, Levene’s test, and Kruskal–Wallis test. Phytochemical screening showed that all three extracts contained alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids, and phenolic compounds, but were negative for steroids. The Kruskal Wallis test showed a significance value of 0.908 (p>0.05), indicating no significant difference in antifungal activity among the three extracts. The highest mean rank was observed for the seed extract (24.17), followed by the skin extract (22.70) and leaf extract (22.13). Conclusion: Melinjo seed extract exhibited the highest antifungal activity compared to leaf and skin extracts. However, all three extracts were still classified as resistant to Candida albicans based on standards established by the CLSI.