the aristolochia species are cultivated as ornamentals and popularly used as sources of abortifacient , emmenagogue , sedative , analgesic , anti - inflammatory , anti - feedant , muscle relaxant , antihistaminic , and anti - allergic drugs . phytochemical studies on plants of the aristolochia genus have yielded various types of compounds with antitumor , antiplatelet aggregation , immunomodulating and antifertility activities . berrostom  to the local population in algeria , is widely used in traditional medicine . in our previous study , we demonstrated that the aqueous extract of a. longa induced cell growth inhibition of burkitt s lymphoma ( bl41 ) cells in a dose - dependent manner . the extract induced apoptosis , loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and the activation of caspases-9 and -3 followed by poly(adenosine diphosphate - ribose ) polymerase cleavage . as part of our continuing work to investigate and biologically evaluate algerian medicinal plants used in cancer treatment , the present study aimed to document ethnomedicinal uses , and to evaluate phytochemical composition and antifungal activity of a. longa . mascara ( 5941 km ) is located in the north - west of algeria , ( at 360 km of algiers ) with mediterranean climate and mean annual precipitations of about 450 mm . in 2010 , ethnomedicinal uses of a. longa information were collected and documented through casual conversations and semi - structured interview technique   with local herbal practitioners and knowledgeable residents of the study area . the main focus was to collect the oral information about the ethnomedicinal uses of a. longa by local population . roots of a. longa were collected in march 2009 ; in  tissemssilet ,  an administrative region located in western algeria . kada righi ( department of agriculture , faculty of nature and life sciences , mascara university , algeria ) . the aqueous extract of a. longa was prepared as follows : the dried roots were boiled for 20 min at 100c , cooled to room temperature , and then filtered . the solution passing through the filter was collected , concentrated , lyophilized and stored in a desiccator at + 4c until use . antifungal activity was evaluated using saccharomyces cerevisiae from our laboratory collection ( dpartement de biologie , facult snv , universit de mascara ) . sabouraud s dextrose broth was used for the preparation of fungal cultures and for the antifungal activity evaluation . a volume of 50 l of overnight liquid cultures of yeast ( density of 2  10 cells / ml ) was added to each well of 96-well plates containing 50 l media and various concentrations ( 0 - 500 g / ml ) of the extract in triplicate . a. longa roots were screened for the presence of phytochemical constituents , such as alkaloids , terpenoids , anthraquinones , flavonoids , tannins , saponins , steroids and glycosides , with the standard qualitative phytochemical procedures described . absorbance was measured at 760 nm using an ultraviolet spectrophotometer ( shimadzu , japan ) . a dose response linear regression was generated using the gallic acid standard absorbance , and the total phenolic content was expressed as mg gallic acid equivalents ( gae)/g dry weight of extract . mean data values are presented , with their standard deviations ( mean  sd ) . all statistical comparisons were made by student s t - test , and statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05 . mascara ( 5941 km ) is located in the north - west of algeria , ( at 360 km of algiers ) with mediterranean climate and mean annual precipitations of about 450 mm . in 2010 , ethnomedicinal uses of a. longa information were collected and documented through casual conversations and semi - structured interview technique   with local herbal practitioners and knowledgeable residents of the study area . the main focus was to collect the oral information about the ethnomedicinal uses of a. longa by local population . roots of a. longa were collected in march 2009 ; in  tissemssilet ,  an administrative region located in western algeria . kada righi ( department of agriculture , faculty of nature and life sciences , mascara university , algeria ) . the aqueous extract of a. longa was prepared as follows : the dried roots were boiled for 20 min at 100c , cooled to room temperature , and then filtered . the solution passing through the filter was collected , concentrated , lyophilized and stored in a desiccator at + 4c until use . antifungal activity was evaluated using saccharomyces cerevisiae from our laboratory collection ( dpartement de biologie , facult snv , universit de mascara ) . sabouraud s dextrose broth was used for the preparation of fungal cultures and for the antifungal activity evaluation . a volume of 50 l of overnight liquid cultures of yeast ( density of 2  10 cells / ml ) was added to each well of 96-well plates containing 50 l media and various concentrations ( 0 - 500 g / ml ) of the extract in triplicate . a. longa roots were screened for the presence of phytochemical constituents , such as alkaloids , terpenoids , anthraquinones , flavonoids , tannins , saponins , steroids and glycosides , with the standard qualitative phytochemical procedures described . absorbance was measured at 760 nm using an ultraviolet spectrophotometer ( shimadzu , japan ) . a dose response linear regression was generated using the gallic acid standard absorbance , and the total phenolic content was expressed as mg gallic acid equivalents ( gae)/g dry weight of extract . mean data values are presented , with their standard deviations ( mean  sd ) . all statistical comparisons were made by student s t - test , and statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05 . in the present study , we interviewed 100 informants ( female : 92 ; male : 8) in different locations of mascara province ( west algeria ) . according to our results [ figure 1 ] , a. longa is recognized to treat several ailments and health disorders . cancer is the first ailment treated with the plant ( 39% ) , followed by skin infections ( 14% ) , diabetes ( 11% ) and gastro - intestinal ailments ( 9% ) . ailments treatd with aristolochia longa as shown in figure 2 , roots are the most frequently used part by local populations of mascara ( 89% ) . the most usually method of preparation used is the mixture crushed roots - honey ( 63% ) , taken orally . mixture with milk ( 13% ) or other medicinal plants ( 12% ) and decoction in water ( 11% ) are also used to treat internal ailments . the paste ( plant grinded with olive oil or water ) is applied externally for skin infections and rheumatism [ figure 3 ] . to investigate the antifungal activity of the a. longa aqueous extract , s. cerevisiae cells were incubated with increasing concentrations ( 0 - 500 g / ml ) . cells were treated with increasing concentrations ( from 0.00 to 500 g / ml ) of a. longa aqueous extract for 72 h and cell growth was measured as described in m and m. percent survival was determined when compared to untreated cells . the difference in cell growth between untreated and a. longa aqueous extract - treated cells was found to be significant ( p < 0.001 ) . data are represented as the mean  standard deviation of three experiments per treatment group . according to our results [ figure 4 ] , a. longa aqueous extract induced growth inhibition of s. cerevisiae cells in a dose- and time- dependent manner . at 250 g / ml , a. longa aqueous extract resulted in 30% and 67.65% inhibition of cell viability of s. cerevisiae cells after 48 and 72 h , respectively . at 500 g / ml , the maximal inhibitory dose on the cell growth , the extract suppressed effectively the growth of s. cerevisiae cells after 72 h of treatment ( 97.06% inhibition of proliferation ) . we demonstrate a strong antifungal effect of a. longa aqueous extract as assessed against s. cerevisiae cells . effect of aristolochia longa aqueous extract on growth saccharomyces cerevisiae cells phytochemical screening of a. longa aqueous extract showed the presence polyphenols , flavonoids , tannins , c - heterosides , carbohydrates , and saponins . however , alkaloids , coumarins and o - heterosides were not detected [ table 1 ] . preliminary phytochemical screening of a. longa roots total phenolic content was estimated by using folin ciocalteu is a widely used and reported method for a simple and rapid estimation of total phenolics . a standard curve [ figure 5 ] was obtained using gallic acid as a standard . calibration curve of gallic acid total phenolic content in a. longa roots was found to be 6.07  0.12 mg ( gae)/g . in the present study , we interviewed 100 informants ( female : 92 ; male : 8) in different locations of mascara province ( west algeria ) . according to our results [ figure 1 ] , a. longa is recognized to treat several ailments and health disorders . cancer is the first ailment treated with the plant ( 39% ) , followed by skin infections ( 14% ) , diabetes ( 11% ) and gastro - intestinal ailments ( 9% ) . ailments treatd with aristolochia longa as shown in figure 2 , roots are the most frequently used part by local populations of mascara ( 89% ) . the most usually method of preparation used is the mixture crushed roots - honey ( 63% ) , taken orally . mixture with milk ( 13% ) or other medicinal plants ( 12% ) and decoction in water ( 11% ) are also used to treat internal ailments . the paste ( plant grinded with olive oil or water ) is applied externally for skin infections and rheumatism [ figure 3 ] . to investigate the antifungal activity of the a. longa aqueous extract , s. cerevisiae cells were incubated with increasing concentrations ( 0 - 500 g / ml ) . cells were treated with increasing concentrations ( from 0.00 to 500 g / ml ) of a. longa aqueous extract for 72 h and cell growth was measured as described in m and m. percent survival was determined when compared to untreated cells . the difference in cell growth between untreated and a. longa aqueous extract - treated cells was found to be significant ( p < 0.001 ) . data are represented as the mean  standard deviation of three experiments per treatment group . according to our results [ figure 4 ] , a. longa aqueous extract induced growth inhibition of s. cerevisiae cells in a dose- and time- dependent manner . at 250 g / ml , a. longa aqueous extract resulted in 30% and 67.65% inhibition of cell viability of s. cerevisiae cells after 48 and 72 h , respectively . at 500 g / ml , the maximal inhibitory dose on the cell growth , the extract suppressed effectively the growth of s. cerevisiae cells after 72 h of treatment ( 97.06% inhibition of proliferation ) . we demonstrate a strong antifungal effect of a. longa aqueous extract as assessed against s. cerevisiae cells . phytochemical screening of a. longa aqueous extract showed the presence polyphenols , flavonoids , tannins , c - heterosides , carbohydrates , and saponins . however , alkaloids , coumarins and o - heterosides were not detected [ table 1 ] . ciocalteu is a widely used and reported method for a simple and rapid estimation of total phenolics . a standard curve [ figure 5 ] was obtained using gallic acid as a standard . calibration curve of gallic acid total phenolic content in a. longa roots was found to be 6.07  0.12 mg ( gae)/g . plants have played a vital role in the prevention and treatment of disease since prehistoric times . although local populations of mascara have a long history of traditional use of medicinal plants , no studies have documented the traditional knowledge , which it is disappearing . the present study aimed to record the ethnomedicinal uses and to investigate the antifungal and the phytochemical profile of a. longa . the latter is widely used in algeria . our results showed that the first ailment treated by local population using a. longa is cancer . it has been reported that the most widely uses of a. longa in algeria are in cancer treatment [ 14 - 16 ] . the use of this plant as an anti - cancer has been also reported in morocco . arthroleptis brevipes , arachis monticola and agrimonia pilosa are used as anticancer plants in mexico . we have recently demonstrated that an aqueous extract of a. longa induced apoptosis of bl41 cell line in a dose - dependent manner , by triggering the mitochondrial pathway . furthermore , our results revealed that skin infections are the second ailment group treated with a. longa in mascara . current antifungal drugs are insufficient due to the limited selection of medications , their adverse side - effects and the emergence of resistance to them by fungal pathogens . according to our results , a. longa aqueous extract induced growth inhibition of s. cerevisiae cells in a dose- and time- dependent manner . at 500 g / ml , the maximal inhibitory dose on the cell growth , the extract almost abolished the proliferation of s. cerevisiae cells after 72 h of treatment ( 97.06% inhibition of proliferation ) . aristolochic acids , isolated from this plant inhibited escherichia coli , pseudomonas aeruginosa , streptococcus faecalis , staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcus epidermidis . several plant extracts from the genus aristolochia have been shown to possess strong in vitro antimicrobial activity [ 23 - 25 ] . secondary metabolites produced by plants possess several interesting biological activities , and are a source of pharmacologically active principles against pathogenic microorganisms . since biological activities of medicinal plants are closely related to their chemical compounds , thus strong antifungal activity of the a. longa aqueous extract may be due to the detected compounds . phytochemical screening of a. longa aqueous extract revealed the presence of polyphenols , flavonoids , tannins , c - heterosides , carbohydrates , and saponins . phenolic compounds , flavonoids and saponins the mechanisms thought to be responsible for phenolic toxicity to microorganisms include enzyme inhibition by the oxidized compounds , possibly through reaction with sulfhydryl groups or through more nonspecific interactions with the proteins . on the other hand , saponins appear to act by disrupting the membrane integrity of fungal cells . in the current study , total phenolic content of the a. longa aqueous extract was measured and found to be 6.07  0.12 mg ( gae)/g . in a. longa total phenolics and flavonoids were estimated as 1.47 mg / g and 0.8 mg / g , respectively . we present evidence that a. longa is widely used by local populations of mascara province ( west algeria ) to treat several ailments such as cancer . crushed roots are commonly used mixed with honey , milk , water or other medicinal plants . moreover , a strong antifungal effect ( dose- and time- dependent manner ) of a. longa aqueous extract as assessed against s. cerevisiae cells was demonstrated . phytochemical screening revealed the presence of bioactive compounds that may contribute to the antifungal activity of the a. longa aqueous extract , such as flavonoids or saponins . thus , a. longa may be considered as a promising source of new drugs for treating cancer and as a good antifungal agent .
aim : aristolochia longa ( from the family aristolochiaceae ) is widely used in algerian traditional medicine . here 
 , we document ethnomedicinal uses by local population of mascara province ( west algeria ) and we evaluate the antifungal activity , the phytochemical composition and total phenolic content of aqueous extract ( decoction ) of the roots of a. longa from algeria.materials and methods : the ethnobotanical investigation was carried out in mascara province ( west algeria ) . 
 antifungal activity was assessed against saccharomyces cerevisiae . 
 total phenolic content was measured using the folin  ciocalteu s reagent.results:our results showed that a. longa is widely used to treat several ailments such as cancer ( 38% ) , skin infections ( 14% ) , and diabetes ( 11% ) . 
 crushed roots are commonly used ( 89% ) mixed with honey , milk , water or other medicinal plants . 
 a. longa aqueous extract induced growth inhibition of s. cerevisiae cells in a dose - and time - dependent manner . 
 an effective suppression of s. cerevisiae ( 97.06% inhibition of proliferation ) was obtained at the 500 g / ml after 72 h. results of the phytochemical screening revealed that a. longa aqueous extract contained various bioactive compounds , including polyphenols and flavonoids . 
 total phenolic content in a. longa aqueous extract was found to be 6.07  0.12 mg ( gallic acid equivalents)/g.conclusion : a . 
 longa may be considered as a promising source of new drugs for treating cancer and as a good antifungal agent .