Antifungal Activities of<i>Origanum</i><i>vulgare</i>subsp.<i>hirtum, Mentha spicata,</i><i>Lavandula angustifolia</i>, and<i>Salvia fruticosa</i>Essential Oils against Human Pathogenic Fungi

Abstract

The essential oils of Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum, Mentha spicata, Lavandula angustifolia, and Salvia fruticosa exhibited antifungal properties against the human pathogens Malassezia furfur, Trichophyton rubrum, and Trichosporon beigelii. Of the four oils, O. vulgare subsp. hirtum oil showed the highest fungicidal activity and at a dilution of 1/50000 caused a 95% reduction in the number of metabolically active cells within 6 h of exposure. Among the main components of the four oils, carvacrol and thymol exhibited the highest levels of antifungal activity. The therapeutic efficacy of the O. vulgare subsp. hirtum essential oil was tested in rats experimentally infected with T. rubrum and yielded promising results. Furthermore, the above essential oils were tested with the Ames test and did not exhibit any mutagenic activity. Keywords: Essential oils; Origanum vulgare; Mentha spicata; Lavandula angustifolia; Salvia fruticosa; Malassezia furfur; Trichophyton rubrum; Trichosporon beigelii; Dermatophytosis; antifungal; mutagenic; in vivo studies