Antifungal Activity of Lemon Grass Oil and Lemon Grass Oil Cream

Abstract

Lemon grass oil was extracted by steam distillation of wilted leaves of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf.) cultivated in Thailand. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum lethal concentration (MLC) of this oil and citral against 35 clinical isolates of 4 dermatophytes (Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Microsporum gypseum) were determined by agar dilution method. It was found that the MIC and MLC of lemon grass oil were higher than those of citral. The most resistant strain was M. gypseum followed by T. rubrum, T. mentagrophytes and E. floccosum, respectively. The mode of action of lemon grass oil and citral were proven to be fungicidal. The comparative study of the efficacy of cream containing four different concentrations (1.5%, 2%, 2.5% and 3%) of lemon grass oil was performed in vitro by hole diffusion assay. The 2.5% lemon grass oil was demonstrated to be the minimum concentration for preparation of an antifungal cream for subsequent clinical study.