TITLE:
Anti-yeast activities of Origanum oil against human pathogenic yeasts
AUTHORS:
Amber Adams, Satyanshu Kumar, John Clauson, Shivendra Sahi
KEYWORDS:
Origanum Vulgare; Candida Albicans; Cryptococcus Neoformans; Rhodotorula Rubrum; Cryptococcus Albidus
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.2 No.2,
April
8,
2011
ABSTRACT: Outbreak of autoimmune diseases by pathogenic yeasts has led to a serious medical threat. As these organisms evolve resistance to existing antifungal drugs, the concern could be further compounded. The realm of plant derived products offers a wide spectrum of potentially valuable alternatives to the existing synthetic fungicides. Essential oils from sev-eral medicinal plants have been shown to exhibit pharmacological attributes. In the present study, anti-yeast properties of Oregano essential oil (OEO) were examined in vitro against four human patho-genic yeasts i.e., Candida albicans, Cryptococcus al-bidus, Cryptococcus neoformans and Rhodotorula ru-brum. OEO concentration of 200 μg/mL was found to be growth inhibitory against all four yeasts examined, thereby showing its potential to function as a natural anti-yeast agent.