©2014 Scienceweb Publishing In vitro control of causal agents of anthracnose of Senna alata L. – a herbal medicinal plant in Bangladesh Shamim Shamsi* • Pranami Chowdhury • Tania Sultana Department of Botany, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh. *Corresponding author. E-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com. Accepted 5 th September, 2014 Abstract. Efficacy of seven fungicides and seven plant extracts were evaluated against two pathogenic species of fungi isolated from Senna alata L. in vitro. The isolated fungi were Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Sacc. and Pestalotiopsis guepinii (Desm.) Stay. Seven fungicides Acrobate MZ, Bavistin 50 WP, Indofil M-45, MC Sulphur 80 WP, Ridomil MZ Gold, Sulcox 50 WP and Tall 25 EC at 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 ppm concentration were evaluated against the fungi. Tall 25 EC completely inhibited the radial growth of the test fungi at all the concentrations used. Antifungal properties of ethanol leaf extracts of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Azadirachta indica L., Citrus medica L., Datura metel L., Mangifera indica L. Senna alata L. and Tagetes erecta L. at 5, 10 and 20% concentrations was evaluated on C. gloeosporioides and P. guepinii. All the selected plant extracts completely inhibited radial growth of the test fungi at 20% concentration. Keywords: In vitro control, causal agents, Athracnose, Senna alata, Herbal medicinal plant. INTRODUCTION Senna alata, the Candle Bush, is an important medicinal shrub as well as an ornamental flowering plants in the sub family Caesalpinioideae which grows well in forested areas of West Africa. It is also known as a Candela Bush, Empress Candle Plant, Ringworm Tree or "candletree". Senna alata is native to Mexico, and can be found in diverse habitats. In the tropics it grows up to an altitude of 1,200 m. It is an invasive species in Austronesia. In Sri Lanka this is use an ingredient of Sinhala traditional medicine. The shrub stands 3 to 4 m tall, with leaves 50 too 80 cm long. The inflorescence looks like a yellow candle. The fruit shaped like a straight pod is up to 25 cm long. Its seed are distributed by water or animals. Cassia alata or Senna alata is often called the Ringworm Bush because of its very effective fungicidal properties, for treating ringworm and other fungal infections of the skin. The leaves are ground in a mortar to obtain a kind of "green cotton wool". This is mixed with the same amount of vegetable oil then rubbed on the affected area 2 to 3 times a day. A fresh preparation is made every day. Its active ingredients include the yellow chrysophanic acid. Its laxative effect, due to its anthraquinone content, is also well proven. The plant has widely been employed for combating dysentery, helminthic infections and stomach disorders. In Ghana and Nigeria, the decoctions of the fresh leaves, roots and seeds has been used for the treatment of wound infections, bronchitis and asthma as well as ring worm and other infectious skin diseases The leaves have been reported to be useful in the treatment of convulsions, gonorrhea, heart failure, abdominal pains, oedema and also as a purgative (Joshi, 2000; Ghani, 1998; Hirt and Mpia, 2008; Yusuf et al., 2009). Senna alata has been reported to contain anthraquinones and the methanol fractions were found to be active against Aspergillus flavus. This study was therefore carried out to investigate the antimicrobial activity of the root and leaf extracts of the plant against some infectious bacteria and fungi. Aims of the study At home and abroad, lots of research has been done on antifungal activities of S. alata (Rahman 2010; Agbagwa Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Research Journal Vol. 2(3), pp. 37-43, November 2014 Research Paper