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. 2022 Dec 26;28(1):215.
doi: 10.3390/molecules28010215.

Clove Essential Oil and Its Main Constituent, Eugenol, as Potential Natural Antifungals against Candida spp. Alone or in Combination with Other Antimycotics Due to Synergistic Interactions

Anna Biernasiuk  1 , Tomasz Baj  2 , Anna Malm  1
Affiliations

Clove Essential Oil and Its Main Constituent, Eugenol, as Potential Natural Antifungals against Candida spp. Alone or in Combination with Other Antimycotics Due to Synergistic Interactions

Anna Biernasiuk et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

The occurrence of candidiasis, including superficial infections, has recently increased dramatically, especially in immunocompromised patients. Their treatment is often ineffective due to the resistance of yeasts to antimycotics. Therefore, there is a need to search for new antifungals. The aim of this study was to determine the antifungal effect of clove essential oil (CEO) and eugenol (EUG) towards both reference and clinical Candida spp. strains isolated from the oral cavity of patients with hematological malignancies, and to investigate their mode of action and the interactions in combination with the selected antimycotics. These studies were performed using the broth microdilution method, tests with sorbitol and ergosterol, and a checkerboard technique, respectively. The CEO and EUG showed activity against all Candida strains with a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) in the range of 0.25-2 mg/mL. It was also found that both natural products bind to ergosterol in the yeast cell membrane. Moreover, the interactions between CEO and EUG with several antimycotics-cetylpyridinium chloride, chlorhexidine, silver nitrate and triclosan-showed synergistic or additive effects in combination, except nystatin. This study confirms that the studied compounds appear to be a very promising group of phytopharmaceuticals used topically in the treatment of superficial candidiasis. However, this requires further studies in vivo.

Keywords: Candida spp.; antifungal activity; clove essential oil; eugenol; interactions; mode of actions.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ATR-FTIR spectra for CEO and EUG.
Figure 2
Figure 2
GC–MS chromatogram of CEO.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) and MFC (minimal fungicidal concentration) values [mg/mL] of CEO (a) and EUG (b) among clinical isolates of C. albicans (30 isolates) and non-albicans Candida spp. (NAC) (30 isolates) from hospitalized patients with hematological malignancies.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) and MFC (minimal fungicidal concentration) values [mg/mL] of CEO (a) and EUG (b) among clinical isolates of C. albicans (30 isolates) and non-albicans Candida spp. (NAC) (30 isolates) from hospitalized patients with hematological malignancies.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The increase in the MIC values (x MIC) of CEO, EUG and NYS (as control) in the presence of ergosterol (400 µg/mL) and sorbitol (0.8 M) against reference Candida spp.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The increase in the MIC values (x MIC) of CEO, EUG and NYS (as control) in the presence of ergosterol (400 µg/mL) and sorbitol (0.8 M) against reference Candida spp.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The mechanism of antifungal action of CEO and EUG (ROS*—Reactive Oxygen Species) (own elaboration based on [2,3,19,28,32,33,34,35,36]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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