Lawsonia inermis extracts have been widely used for medicinal, cosmetic and preservative purposes. Natural resources have always provided good leads for the development of bioactive agents. In the context of the present study, antimicrobial activity of Lawsonia inermis extracts against fungus Curvularia lunata has been assessed. We tried six different solvents for successive extraction; the purpose was to screen out the best extract in term of its fungicidal action. Among all solvent extracts, acetone extract showed greatest percent (70.15%) inhibition of mycelia growth of target fungi. The commonly used laboratory method, poison food technique was used to evaluate and screen the in vitro antifungal activity. Mancozeb and bavistin were used as standards. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) of acetone fraction of Lawsonia inermis Linn. were investigated against Curvularia lunata and phytotoxicity of best partially purified extract was observed. Our result shows that acetone fraction of Lawsonia inermis Linn. has maximum antifungal activity and can be used as a powerful fungicide against Curvularia lunata in treating leaf spot disease of maize.
