Evaluation of the Essential Oil of <i>Citrus paradisi</i> as an Alternative Treatment against <i>Candida albicans</i>

Abstract

Introduction: The World Health Organization establishes that 80% of the world's population uses traditional medicine for their primary care, because they contain compounds responsible for their properties. Objective: To evaluate the antifungal effect of the essential oil of Citrus paradisi against C. albicans and the cytotoxic effect in three cell lines in vitro. Methods: The phytochemical characterization of the oil was carried out by chemical methods and Gas chromatography (GC-MS) and the antifungal effect against C. albicans (ATCC 90029) was evaluated by the Kirby-Bauer method, which evaluated concentrations of 0.75-20 μg/mL and compared with nystatin 100,000 Ul/mL as a positive control. The percentage of the relative inhibitory effect was calculated. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined at 24 hours. Moreover, the cytotoxic effect on C. albicans and cell lines was determined by the colorimetric MTT tetrazolium assay. Finally, the antifungal effect against Candida strains isolated from clinical samples was evaluated at a concentration of 20 μg/mL. Results: The essential oil showed an antifungal effect with a percentage of inhibition of 123%. The MIC was 2.5 μg/mL, and the cytotoxicity index was 5.44 μg/mL for C. albicans. The IC 50 values were 21.060, 9.482 and 4.176 μg/mL for Vero E6, J774A.1 and MDBK cells respectively. Conclusion: These results show the use of C. paradisi essential oil as an alternative treatment in oral antifungal therapy, it is beneficial due to its antifungal effect and its low toxicity on cell cultures.

Preliminary Study of the Antimicrobial, Anticoagulant, Antioxidant, Cytotoxic, and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Five Selected Plants with Therapeutic Application in Dentistry

“…Among the most widely used is chlorhexidine. It is considered the "gold standard" due to its broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against different oral pathogens such as S. mutans, S. oralis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. fermentum, or Candida albicans [38,39]. However, side effects have limited its applications.…”

Essential Oil and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extract of Grapefruit Peels Formulated for Candida albicans Infections: Evaluation by an in Vitro Model to Study Fungal–Host Interactions

“…In addition to mammalian cells, EO was observed to be toxic to pathogenic C. albicans at a concentration range of 3200–400 μg/mL at 8 h, but only at concentrations of 3200 and 1600 μg/mL at 24 h due to its rapid proliferation and resistance to EO (Figure D). Similarly, the grapefruit peel EO concentration required for 50% viability of C. albicans was shown to be lower than that of healthy epithelial Vero cells, which makes it a natural alternative for the control of mycoses . Considering the results of our study, 800 μg/mL has been elicited as the ideal concentration of EO to prepare mixtures with SC-CO 2 extracts and a treatment interval of 8 h, which would further be tested for cytotoxicity.…”

“…Similarly, the grapefruit peel EO concentration required for 50% viability of C. albicans was shown to be lower than that of healthy epithelial Vero cells, which makes it a natural alternative for the control of mycoses. 39 Considering the results of our study, 800 μg/mL has been elicited as the ideal concentration of EO to prepare mixtures with SC-CO 2 extracts and a treatment interval of 8 h, which would further be tested for cytotoxicity. Among SC-CO 2 extracts, E1 was cytotoxic to all cells and the yeast at a concentration of 250 μg/mL and below at 8 h ( Figure S3 ), showing no selectivity.…”

Active carboxymethyl cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol biodegradable packaging film for shelf‐life enhancement: Effects of makrut lime essential oil on Cavendish bananas ripening and fungal spoilage

“…EO extracted from grapefruit peel by cold pressing contained 94.4% limonene. 28 EO extracted from peel of bergamot, a citrus, also contained 17.1% limonene, 17.7% linalyl acetate, and 46.3% linalool. 29 The other compounds listed in Table 1 were present at much smaller amounts.…”