Efficacy of essential oil on the growth and enzymatic activity of pathogenic strains.

Background And Purpose: () is the most common human pathogen owing to the most virulence factors. It seems that extracellular hydrolytic enzymes play a key role in pathogenicity. The present study aimed to assess the susceptibility and enzymatic activity of pathogenic isolates exposed to the () essential oil.

Materials And Methods: oil was characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The broth microdilution technique (CLSI, M27-A3) was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of test compounds. Furthermore, before and after treatment with essential oil, the yeasts were analyzed regarding the proteinase (Prz), hemolysin (Hz), and phospholipase (Phz) production/activity.

Results: β-caryophyllene (12.76%) was found to be the major constituent in the essential oil after eugenol (84.64%). Only one isolate of showed the antifungal resistance to fluconazole. All isolates were susceptible to essential oil with MIC of 625-1250 μg/ml. oil represented the best antifungal effect against at MIC 1000 μg/ml. The mean±SD enzyme activity of not exposed to essential oil was obtained at 0.55±0.03, 0.73±0.04, and 0.61±0.05 for proteinase, hemolysin, and phospholipase, respectively. The activities of these enzymes were reduced significantly (<0.05) to 0.33±0.06, 0.40±0.04, and 0.16±0.03 for phospholipase, proteinase, and hemolysin, respectively, after the yeasts were subjected to essential oil.

Conclusion: The present study aimed to determine the ability of essential oil to prevent the growth of and decrease their enzymatic activity. As a natural antifungal agent, can be utilized in pharmaceutical systems.