Chemical composition, antifungal and antibiofilm activity of the essential oils derived from two varieties of psidium salutare against Candida spp.

Abstract

Antifungal and antibiofilm activities of essential oils of P. salutare var. sericeum (EOPSS) and P. salutare var. mucronatum (EOPSM) against 14 Candida strains were investigated. Further the essential oils were analyzed for its chemical components by GC-MS. With respect to the antifungal activity, the strongest activity was observed against C. albicans ATCC 10231, were EOPSS and EOPSM showed a Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of 1250 µg.mL-1. Among the 14 isolates analyzed, six strains were identified to be moderate or strong biofilm formers (C. albicans 0051-L, C. famata DH12, C. guilhiermondii TA07, C. guilhiermondii CGU 02, C. krusei 0037-L, C. krusei RL 33) and these were used to evaluate the antibiofilm activity of the essential oils. During analysis of the antibiofilm activity, EOPSM stood out with inhibition of biofilm formation of 60 to 90% for the microorganisms tested. Thus, the results of this study show the potential of OEPSM as an alternative or complementary therapy for infections caused by biofilm-producing Candida species. Yet in this study, the phenylpropanoids baeckeol, isobaeckeol, isobaeckeol methyl ether and homoisobaeckeol were found for the first time in essential oils of the genus Psidium.