Investigating the anti-fungal activity of Croton tricolor essential oil

In this study, researchers from Brazil identified the chemical components of the essential oil obtained from the stems of Croton tricolor and studied their anti-fungal activity against several Candida species. Their findings were published in the Journal of Essential Oil Research.

• For their analysis, the researchers first extracted essential oil from C. tricolor stems through hydrodistillation with a Clevenger apparatus.
• They found that C. tricolor essential oil has four major components, namely, epiglobulol, a-bisabolol, a-trans-bergamotol and B-caryophyllene.
• Using the microdilution method, the researchers performed microbiological assays to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of C. tricolor essential oil against each Candida strain used in the study.
• The researchers reported that C. tricolor essential oil at concentrations ranging from 1.0 to 1024 mcg/mL inhibited the growth of all the Candida strains tested.
• Overall, the microbiological assays showed that C. tricolor essential oil has significant inhibitory activity against several species of Candida.

Based on their findings, the researchers concluded that the essential oil from the stem of C. tricolor is a promising natural product that can be used to treat candidiasis.

Journal Reference:

Miranda FM, Junior BBDN, Aguiar RM, Pereira RS, Teixeira ADO, Oliveira DMD, Lima EDO, Oigman SS, Rezende CMD, Froldi G. PROMISING ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF CROTON TRICOLOR STEM ESSENTIAL OIL AGAINST CANDIDA YEASTS. Journal of Essential Oil Research. 02 November 2018;31(3):223–227. DOI: 10.1080/10412905.2018.1539416