Mucormycoses are emerging infections that have high rates of morbidity and mortality. They show high resistance to antifungal agents, and there is a limited therapeutic arsenal currently available, therefore, there is a great need to give priority to testing therapeutic agents for the treatment of mucormycosis. Along this line, the use of essential oils and phytoconstituents has been emphasized as a new therapeutic approach. The objective of this work was to investigate the antifungal activity of the essential oil (EO) of Thymus vulgaris, and its constituents thymol and p-cymene against Rhizopus oryzae, through microbiological screening, determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MICs) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFCs), effects on mycelial growth and germination of sporangiospores and interaction with ergosterol. The MIC of EO and thymol varied 128–512 µg/mL, but the MFC of EO and thymol varied 512–1024 µg/mL and 128–1024 µg/mL, respectively. The results also showed that EO and thymol significantly inhibited mycelial development and germination of sporangiospores. Investigation of the mechanism of antifungal action showed that EO and thymol interact with ergosterol. These data indicate that EO of T. vulgaris and thymol possess strong antifungal activity, which can be related to their interaction with ergosterol, supporting the possible use of these products in the treatment of mucormycosis.

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This study confirms that geraniol and citronellol can be regarded as potential drugs for controlling T. rubrum growth, with great potential against agents of dermatophytosis.

Candida albicans is an opportunistic yeast and a member of the normal human flora that commonly causes infections in patients with any type of deficiency of the immune system. The essential oils have been tested for antimycotic activity and pose much potential as antifungal agents. This work investigated the activity of the essential oil of Cymbopogon winterianus against C. albicans by MIC, MFC and time-kill methods. The essential oil (EO) was obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. It was tested fifteen strains of C. albicans. The MIC was determined by the microdilution method and the MFC was determined when an aliquot of the broth microdilution was cultivated in SDA medium. The phytochemical analysis of EO showed presence of citronellal (23,59%), geraniol (18,81%) and citronellol (11,74%). The EO showed antifungal activity, and the concentrations 625 µg/mL and 1250 µg/mL inhibited the growth of all strains tested and it was fungicidal, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of various concentrations of EO was analyzed over time, it was found concentration-dependent antifungal activity, whose behavior was similar to amphotericin B and nystatin.