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. 2015 Jun;55(2):175-83.
doi: 10.1007/s12088-014-0508-2. Epub 2014 Dec 9.

Essential Oils, Silver Nanoparticles and Propolis as Alternative Agents Against Fluconazole Resistant Candida albicans, Candida glabrata and Candida krusei Clinical Isolates

Piotr Szweda  1 , Katarzyna Gucwa  1 , Ewelina Kurzyk  2 , Ewa Romanowska  3 , Katarzyna Dzierżanowska-Fangrat  3 , Anna Zielińska Jurek  4 , Piotr Marek Kuś  5 , Sławomir Milewski  1
Affiliations

Essential Oils, Silver Nanoparticles and Propolis as Alternative Agents Against Fluconazole Resistant Candida albicans, Candida glabrata and Candida krusei Clinical Isolates

Piotr Szweda et al. Indian J Microbiol. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Development of effective and safe therapeutic treatment of fungal infections remains one of the major challenge for modern medicine. The aim of presented investigation was to analyze the in vitro antifungal activity of selected essential oils, ethanolic extracts of propolis and silver nanoparticles dropped on TiO2 against azole-resistant C. albicans (n = 20), C. glabrata (n = 14) and C. krusei (n = 10) clinical isolates. Among tested essential oils, the highest activity has definitely been found in the case of the oil isolated from the bark of Cinnamomum cassia, with MIC and MFC values for all tested strains in the range of 0.0006-0.0097 % (v/v) and 0.0012-0.019 % (v/v), respectively. High activity was also observed for the Lemon, Basil, Thyme, Geranium and Clove (from buds) essential oils. Significant differences in fungicidal activity have been observed in the case of four tested propolis samples. Only one of them revealed high activity, with MFC values in the range from 0.156 to 1.25 % (v/v). Satisfactory fungicidal activity, against C. albicans and C. glabrata isolates, was also observed in the case of silver nanoparticles, however C. krusei isolates were mostly resistant. We also revealed that constituents of most of essential oils and propolis as well as silver nanoparticles are not substrates for drug transporters, which belong to the most important factors affecting resistance of Candida spp. clinical isolates to many of conventional antimycotics. To conclude, the results of our investigation revealed that essential oils, propolis and silver nanoparticles represent high potential for controlling and prevention candidiasis.

Keywords: Candida albicans; Candida glabrata; Candida krusei; Essential oils; Propolis; Silver nanoparticles.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Pictures of silver nanoparticles immobilized on titanium dioxide (TiO2) in three different magnifications
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Fungistatic (characterized with MIC – minimal inhibitory concentration values) and fungicidal (characterized with MFC – minimal fungicidal concentration values) of selected eight essential oils
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Fungicidal activity of ethanolic extracts of four propolis samples
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Fungicidal activity of silver nanoparticles dropped on TiO2
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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