Combinação de óleos essenciais entre si e com clotrimazol na inibição e erradicação de biofilmes formados por espécies de Candida.

Abstract

Introduction: The increasing use of plant­derived products for therapeutic purposes has been an alternative to the treatment of mucocutaneous infections, such as those caused by Candida spp. The anti­Candida activity of the association of essential oils (EO) and azoles is not widely studied. Aim: To evaluate the antifungal and antibiofilm activity of EO of C. sempervirens, C. limon, L. cubeba and M. alternifolia and their combinations with each other and with clotrimazole on Candida spp., besides checking the acute toxicity in the in vivo model Caenorhabditis elegans. Methods: The antifungal activity of the synergistic associations OE- OE and OE­clotrimazole was measured by microdilution using the checkerboard technique and, later, in biofilms using MTT­menadione. Toxicity to C. elegans was evaluated after 24 hours of exposure. Results: The minimum inhibitory concentration ranged from 500 μg/mL to > 4,000 μg/mL, and the EO of C. sempervirens and L. cubeba had the lowest MIC (500 μg/mL) for C. krusei; and clotrimazole ranged from 0.015 ­ 0.5 μg/mL. Biofilm eradication and inhibition ranged from 1000 μg/mL to > 4,000 μg/mL. It was not possible to determine the lethal dose (LD50) for C. sempervirens and clotrimazole, while for C. limon, L. cubeba and M. alternifolia it was 2000 μg/mL. There was 85% survival of larvae exposed to M. alternifolia­clotrimazole and M. alternifolia­L. cubeba, C. sempervirens­-clotrimazole, and C. sempervirens­-C. limon. Conclusion: Our study showed that lower concentrations by synergism could inhibit the planktonic and biofilm form of Candida spp., however there were effective and toxic combinations to C. elegans.