K. Adam et al., ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITIES OF ORIGANUM-VULGARE SUBSP HIRTUM, MENTHA-SPICATA, LAVANDULA-ANGUSTIFOLIA, AND SALVIA-FRUTICOSA ESSENTIAL OILS AGAINSTHUMAN PATHOGENIC FUNGI, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 46(5), 1998, pp. 1739-1745
The essential oils of Origanum vulgare subsp, hirtum, Mentha spicata,
Lavandula angustifolia, and Salvia fruticosa exhibited antifungal prop
erties against the human pathogens Malassezia furfur, Trichophyton rub
rum, and Trichosporon beigelii. Of the four oils, O. vulgare subsp. hi
rtum oil showed the highest fungicidal activity and at a dilution of 1
/50000 caused a 95% reduction in the number of metabolically active ce
lls within 6 h of exposure. Among the main components of the four oils
, carvacrol and thymol exhibited the highest levels of antifungal acti
vity. The therapeutic efficacy of the O. vulgare subsp. hirtum essenti
al oil was tested in rats experimentally infected with T. rubrum and y
ielded promising results. Furthermore, the above essential oils were t
ested with the Ames test and did not exhibit any mutagenic activity.