Antimicrobial activity of Mentha piperita L. against Candida spp.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro the effects of hydroalcoholic extract, infusion and essential oil of Mentha piperita L. on Candida spp. Hydroalcoholic extract and essential oil were evaluated regarding microbial activity against 50 strains of Candida albicans, 10 Candida glabrata, 10 Candida tropicalis, 8 Candida parapsilosis and 2 Candida krusei. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the hydroalcoholic extract was determined by the broth dilution method and the essential oil antimicrobial activity was determined by the agar diffusion test. The effect of infusion of Mentha piperita L. on the adherence of standard Candida strains to acrylic resin was also investigated. The results demonstrated that hydroalcoholic extract of Mentha piperita L. showed fungistatic activity against strains of C. albicans, C. tropicalis and C. glabrata. The essential oil showed greater inhibitory activity on strains of C. albicans, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis. Infusion of Mentha piperita L. did not inhibit the adherence of Candida to acrylic resin. In conclusion, Mentha piperita L. presented greater antimicrobial activity against strains of C. albicans and C. tropicalis, but showed no effect on the adherence of these microorganisms to acrylic resin.

Evaluation of the Antifungal Activity of Mentha x piperita (Lamiaceae) of Pancalieri (Turin, Italy) Essential Oil and Its Synergistic Interaction with Azoles

“…Some studies have demonstrated that Mentha x piperita EO possesses antimicrobial properties and antioxidant activity [15]. In addition, Mentha x piperita EO is capable of inhibiting the production of Candida and other microbial biofilms [16,17,18], reducing the amount of exoproteins associated with Staphylococcus aureus virulence at subMIC concentrations in a dose-dependent manner [19]. In this study, “Mentha of Pancalieri” EO exhibited higher antimicrobial activity towards C. neoformans , S. cerevisiae , and P. carsonii and displayed good antimicrobial activity towards C. krusei and C. glabrata —species that are often resistant to conventional drugs.…”

“…The antimicrobial activity of “Mentha of Pancalieri” EO can be mainly related to menthol and/or menthone, the main compounds contained in the EO [10]. However, this activity may be due to a possible synergy between all of the EO components [15,16]. In fact, while our MIC results for menthol (Table 3) indicated a better activity of this component against dermatophytes in comparison with EO in toto, the MIC values of menthone for Microsporum spp.…”

Synergistic anti-candidal activity and mode of action ofMentha piperitaessential oil and its major components

“…Mentha piperita L. (Lamiaceae) essential oil (mint EO) has been used in traditional medicine and its biological activity may be due to its major components, carvone, menthol, and menthone (Figure 1). Recent studies have shown that it inhibits the formation of Candida and other microbial biofilms (Carretto et al, 2010;Derwich et al, 2011;Saharkhiz et al, 2012;Sandasi et al, 2011), decreasing the production of virulence-associated exoproteins by Staphylococcus aureus at sub-inhibitory concentrations in a dose-dependent manner (Li et al, 2011).…”

Food Preservatives from Plants

“…The M. piperita EOs and ethanol extract showed antifungal activity against Candida spp. : Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, Candida glabrate and Candida parapsilosis, but its infusion did not have any antifungal properties not only to them but also moulds: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Rhizopus solani, Alternaria alternata [61]. What is more, peppermint oils and extract showed antiadhesive and antibiofilm properties against food spoilage bacteria Asaia lannensis and Asaia bogorensis as well as rods P. aeruginosa, bacilli Listeria monocytogenes and yeasts C. albicans, Candida dubliniensis [62][63][64][65].…”