Kinetics of the essential oil-antifungal interactions

The objective of this work, in addition to the phyto-chemical and antifungal study, is to investigate the kinetics of anti-candidiasis interactions of the essential oil (E.O) of Melaleuca alternifolia and two antifungals: Amphotericin B (Amph B) and fluconazole (Fluc). The essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia was extracted from the leaves and terminal stems using a Clevenger-type device, analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The anti-Candida activity was assessed using two techniques; the technique of aromatogramme and microdilution technique. The microbial strain is a lot of ATCC (American Type Culture Collection 90029) of Candida albicans. The percentages and the inhibition zones, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and fungicidal (MFC) and the fractional inhibitory concentration (FICI) and fungicidal (FFCI) index were determined. The extraction yield was 1.98 %. The major compounds were: terpinen-4-ol (31.15%), the Α-terpinene (12.02 %) and Β-terpineol (8.12 %). The inhibition diameter of essential oil was 24.52 ± 0.9 mm. The inhibition rate of the growth of Candida albicans was 97.35 ± 2.16 %. There was a variation of MIC values and MFC versus concentrations of association between the essential oil and antifungal studied. The lowest values of the FICI combinations E.O / Amph B and E.O / Fluc were 0.493 and 0.432 respectively, those of FFCI were of the order of 0.862 and 0.798. The essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia is an excellent fungicide. Its major anti-Candida activity in vitro could be subject to other studies in vivo to enrich the antifungal arsenal while minimizing adverse drug reactions.