Essential Oils as a Good Weapon against Drug-Resistant Candida auris

Abstract

Candida auris is a recently found Candida species, mainly associated with nosocomial outbreaks in intensive care hospital settings, and unlike other Candida species, it can be transmitted through person-to-person or by contact with surfaces. C. auris is described as resistant to first-line antifungals and, consequently, associated with high mortality. Nowadays, essential oils (EOs) are known to be effective against fungal and bacterial infections. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of four EOs (tea tree, niaouli, white thyme and cajeput) against C. auris. The EO’s effect on C. auris planktonic growth was evaluated by the minimum inhibitory concentration determination and by the agar disc diffusion method. Then, the same effect was evaluated on biofilm by colony-forming units’ enumeration. The results showed that EOs were able to inhibit the C. auris planktonic growth, with an MIC50 between 0.78 and 1.56% and halos of 20–21 mm for white thyme and tea tree and 13–14 mm for cajeput and niaouli. In addition, the EOs were also able to completely inhibit biofilm formation. Moreover, white thyme and cajeput completely eradicate pre-formed biofilms, while tea tree and niaouli significantly reduce it. Thus, this work demonstrates that EOs are a possible therapeutic alternative and a future perspective for the hard fight against C. auris.

A New Potential Resource in the Fight against Candida auris: the Cinnamomum zeylanicum Essential Oil in Synergy with Antifungal Drug

“…There are several essential oils with known antifungal activity ( 21 ). Recently, using the agar diffusion method, some authors tested the antifungal activity of some EOs against C. auris ( 22 , 23 ). In this study, the antifungal properties of 15 EOs were investigated, and the Cinnamomum zeylanicum EO (bark) was selected as the most effective.…”

PVA/Inulin-Based Sustainable Films Reinforced with Pickering Emulsion of Niaouli Essential Oil for Potential Wound Healing Applications

“…Essential oils are mainly made up of terpenes and some non-terpene components. Niaouli oil, which is part of the Myrtaceae ( Myrtle ) family, consists of 1,8-cineole (oxide) (monoterpene), limonene (monoterpene), a-pinene (monoterpene), ß-pinene (monoterpene), and viridiflorol (sesquiterpene) in varying compositions [ 62 , 63 ]. Table 3 provides the information on the zone of inhibition of the prepared composite films.…”

Antifungal and Antibiofilm Activity of Colombian Essential Oils against Different Candida Strains

“…Secondary metabolites of MM-II EO, iso-menthone and menthone, were moderately correlated to antibiofilm activity exclusively against the C. auris strain. Moreover, other authors have evaluated the ability of EOs to inhibit or control the planktonic and sessile growth of C. auris with promising results [ 11 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. However, most of those EOs (cinnamon, lemongrass, tea tree, cajeput, Niaouli, and White thyme) showed higher MICs (>375 µg/mL or >0.05% v / v) than those of our bioactive EOs [ 45 , 47 ].…”