Antifungal Efficacy of Andaliman (Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC.) Fruit Extract Ointment in a Trichophyton rubrum–Induced Rat Model of Dermatophytosis: A Histopathological Evaluation

This study evaluated andaliman (Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC.) fruit ethanol-extract ointment in Trichophyton rubrum dermatophytosis using serial lesion measurements and terminal histopathology. Twenty-five male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) were allocated to vehicle, terbinafine 1%, or nominal 10%, 30%, and 50% extract ointments (n = 5/group). Dermatophytosis was induced with T. rubrum ATCC 28188 (100 µL, 1 × 10? conidia/mL) and confirmed by clinical signs and potassium-hydroxide microscopy approximately 10 days after inoculation. Treatment was applied once daily for 10 days. Lesion area was measured on treatment days 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10; H&E inflammation and PAS fungal-element scores were assessed on treatment day 11. Screening detected tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and saponins. Groups did not differ on day 2 (p = 1.000), but differed from day 4 onward (Welch ANOVA, all p < .001). On day 10, lesion area was 7.06 ± 2.17 mm² with nominal 50% ointment and 7.63 ± 1.82 mm² with terbinafine (Games–Howell p = .990), versus 192.88 ± 28.42 mm² with vehicle. H&E scores differed among groups (H[4] = 24.000, p < .001), with medians of 1 for nominal 50% ointment and 3 for vehicle. PAS scores were 2 in every active-treatment group and 3 with vehicle (H[4] = 24.000, p < .001). The nominal 50% formulation warrants confirmatory preclinical testing, but these results establish neither therapeutic equivalence nor fungal eradication.