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Review
. 2020 Jul 9;9(7):395.
doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9070395.

Anti- Candida Activity of Essential Oils from Lamiaceae Plants from the Mediterranean Area and the Middle East

Giulia Potente  1 , Francesca Bonvicini  2 , Giovanna Angela Gentilomi  2 , Fabiana Antognoni  1
Affiliations
Review

Anti- Candida Activity of Essential Oils from Lamiaceae Plants from the Mediterranean Area and the Middle East

Giulia Potente et al. Antibiotics (Basel). .

Abstract

Extensive documentation is available on plant essential oils as a potential source of antimicrobials, including natural drugs against Candida spp. Yeasts of the genus Candida are responsible for various clinical manifestations, from mucocutaneous overgrowth to bloodstream infections, whose incidence and mortality rates are increasing because of the expanding population of immunocompromised patients. In the last decade, although C. albicans is still regarded as the most common species, epidemiological data reveal that the global distribution of Candida spp. has changed, and non-albicans species of Candida are being increasingly isolated worldwide. The present study aimed to review the anti-Candida activity of essential oils collected from 100 species of the Lamiaceae family growing in the Mediterranean area and the Middle East. An overview is given on the most promising essential oils and constituents inhibiting Candida spp. growth, with a particular focus for those natural products able to reduce the expression of virulence factors, such as yeast-hyphal transition and biofilm formation. Based on current knowledge on members of the Lamiaceae family, future recommendations to strengthen the value of these essential oils as antimicrobial agents include pathogen selection, with an extension towards the new emerging Candida spp. and toxicological screening, as it cannot be taken for granted that plant-derived products are void of potential toxic and/or carcinogenic properties.

Keywords: Candida albicans; Candida non-albicans; Lamiaceae plants; anti-virulence factors; cytotoxicity; essential oils.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Frequency distribution of reviewed plant species producing EOs with anti-Candida activity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequency of distribution of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values related to the selected EOs. Studies reporting MICs obtained from plant species analyzed in different seasons or collected in different regions were excluded from the analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
C. albicans cultures grown under conditions inducing yeast-to-hyphae transition and in presence of a representative agent inhibiting the expression of virulence factors. Untreated cells undergo transition to filamentous forms and produce a strong biofilm, stained with crystal violet. Treated cells are blastospores and budding cells but not hyphae, and the biofilm is faintly stained.
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