Antimicrobial properties of some plant essential oils against two human pathogens

Abstract

The antimicrobial activity of essential oils distilled from Tea tree () Rosemary (), Lavender (), Eucalyptus (), Clove (), , Geranium essential oils and mineral oils were screened against two pathogenic fungi, Candida albicans which causes scalp dandruff and Trichophyton rubrum that causes athlete's foot while for the testing, poison food method was used.The purpose of this brief review is to describe the properties of essential oils, principally as antifungal agents, against two most important fungal infections that are Dandruff and Athlete’s foot. The invitro studies of the tested essential oils revealed the positive inhibitory on the tested fungal pathogens. The results showed that the essential oil of almost three aromatic plants have the potential to be used for management of two pathogenic fungi, which causes scalp dandruff and that causes athlete's foot.Hence, the essential oils from medicinal plants used in this study hold great potential for the antifungal properties. However mineral oil showed less activity against the four fungi tested as compared to essential oils.