Evaluation of antifungal activity of essential oil of Carvacrol on standard Fluconazole sensitive and

Background and objectives: Candida albicans is a humanopportunistic fungus causing mucosal and systemic infections inimmunocompromised individuals. There is evidence of increasingresistance to antifungal agents, thus it is necessary to search about newformulations for finding the antifungal agents. Some plants haveantimicrobial properties due to presence of components such aspolyphenols. We aimed at evaluating antifungal effects of Carvacrolessence, which is the main compound of essential oil of Thymusvulgaris, on standard Fluconazole sensitive and resistance strains ofCandida albicans.Material and Methods: This study evaluated the antiCandida activityof essential oil Carvacrol by means of Inhibitory zone diameter andMinimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), using Microdilution brothand Disc diffusion methods. To do this, Serial dilutions (10-100 μl)of essential oils were made in 96 well microtiter plates. The wells’opacity was assessed by using a microtiter plate reader of solution.The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of essential oilCarvacrol and Fluconazole were measured by counting the number ofcolony in Dextro agar medium.Results: the minimum inhibitory concentration of Carvacrol essencein standard strains and Fluconazole-resistance Candida albicans are,respectively, 5.3 and 6.18μg/ml, and the Minimal FungicideConcentration (MFC) are 10.61 and 12. 3μg/ml. Inhibitory zonediameters are 45 and 35 millimeter for Fluconazole sensitive andresistance Candida albicans, respectively.Conclusion: the results show that essence of Carvacrol has suitableantifungal effects against standard strains and Fluconazole sensitiveand resistance of Candida albicans. These herbal essences, aftersupplementary studies, possibly can be used for infections caused byCandidas.Key words: Antifungal activity; Carvacrol; Candida albicans;Fluconazole