Chemical composition and antifungal activity of essential oil from Eucalyptus smithii against dermatophytes

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Edilene Bolutari Baptista, Danielle Cristina Zimmermann-Franco, Alexandre Augusto Barros Lataliza, Nádia Rezende Barbosa Raposo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2015
• Subjects: Eucalyptus smithii; Dermatophytes; Medicinal plants; Antifungal activity; Essential oil; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0188-2015; https://doaj.org/article/102d8a49ccbf4885af81e2a2ec0094a4

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: In this study, we evaluated the chemical composition of a commercial sample of essential oil from Eucalyptus smithii R.T. Baker and its antifungal activity against Microsporum canis ATCC 32903, Microsporum gypseum ATCC 14683, Trichophyton mentagrophytes ATCC 9533, T. mentagrophytes ATCC 11480, T. mentagrophytes ATCC 11481, and Trichophyton rubrum CCT 5507. METHODS: Morphological changes in these fungi after treatment with the oil were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antifungal activity of the oil was determined on the basis of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values. RESULTS: The compound 1,8-cineole was found to be the predominant component (72.2%) of the essential oil. The MIC values of the oil ranged from 62.5μg·mL−1 to >1,000μg·mL−1, and the MFC values of the oil ranged from 125μg·mL−1 to >1,000μg·mL−1. SEM analysis showed physical damage and morphological alterations in the fungi exposed to this oil. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated the potential of Eucalyptus smithii essential oil as a natural therapeutic agent for the treatment of dermatophytosis.