Phytochemical Composition and Antifungal Potential of Salvia palaestina Populations from Kurdistan Against Dermatophytes

The paper studied phytochemical compounds and anti-fungal activity of Salvia palaestina (Lamiaceae) which grew in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in the months of March- July 2025 and tested them against the dermatophytes Trichophyton rubrum and Microsporum canis using 80% methanol extracts of the different populations of plants. The inhibition zone was used to measure the antifungal activity, and the groups had statistical differences. Although SP9 and SP13 showed an average activity, SP1 was the most active, particularly when it came to Microsporum canis (55.44) mm inhibition at 100 percent concentration. Generally, Microsporum canis was weaker in comparison to Trichophyton rubrum. Phytochemical analysis provided distinctive patterns of phenolic and flavonoid. The most common compound was salvigenin which was found in seven groups. The largest variety of chemical compositions was observed in populations SP1, SP2, SP3 and SP4 that contained significant compounds such as ferulic acid or caffeoylquinic acids. These findings suggest that Salvia palaestina has the potential of having antifungal properties particularly when in collections abundant in phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Nevertheless, the effects on population-specific variations in phytochemicals which are likely to be affected by environmental factors make a strong contribution to treatment efficacy.