Treatment of pityriasis versicolor with topical application of essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf - therapeutic pilot study

Abstract

BACKGROUND Pityriasis versicolor is a fungal infection caused by Malassezia spp. that has frequent relapses. OBJECTIVES The main objective of this research was to perform phase I and II clinical studies, using formulations containing essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus in patients with pityriasis versicolor. METHODS Phase I study included twenty volunteers to ascertain the safety of the formulations. In phase II, 47 volunteers randomly received essential oil formulations at 1.25 μL/mL concentration, for forty days. The shampoo should be applied three times a week and the cream twice a day. A control group in phase II, consisting of 29 volunteers, received the same formulations but with 2% ketoconazole as the active ingredient. RESULTS No significant adverse events were observed in volunteers during Phase I. In Phase II, 30 (63.83%) volunteers using essential oil and 18 (62.07%) using ketoconazole remained until the end of the study. We observed a predominance of lesions in disseminated form, with M. sympodialis detected as the predominant agent identified in cultures. After 40 days of treatment, the rate of mycological cure was 60% (p <0.05) for the group treated with essential oil of C. citratus and over 80% (p <0.05) for the group treated with ketoconazole formulations. CONCLUSIONS Notwithstanding the safety and antifungal effects observed in this study after application of formulations containing the essential oil of C. citratus, further studies with larger populations should be performed to confirm the actual potential of these formulations in the treatment of patients with Pityriasis versicolor.

Ethnobotanical survey on plants used in the treatment of candidiasis in traditional markets of southern Benin

“… Hunsukusɛ / Hunsikonu (F) Compositae Pe Dec; Pounding; Grilling Oral + Topic 22.94 20.16 100 0 36 YH 362 / HNB Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf Tcha; Ca / Ti (man) (f) Poaceae Le Dec Oral 2.75 2.42 100 0 [ 56 ] 37 YH 363 / HNB Daniellia oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch. & Dalziel Zaxaya (f) Leguminosae Tf Dec Oral + Topic 1.83 1.61 100 0 R 38 YH 310 / HNB Desmodium velutinum (Willd.)…”

Alternative treatment of vaginal infections - in vitro antimicrobial and toxic effects of Coriandrum sativum L. and Thymus vulgaris L. essential oils

“…Due to the possible irritation potential of these EOs on skin and mucous membranes, it is commonly recommended by practitioners that EOs are used only in diluted forms for external application (Carmo et al . ).…”

“…The threshold concentration was determined in vitro using a modified hen's egg test, chorioallontois membrane assay (Wilson and Steck 2000), which should be applied in further investigations. Due to the possible irritation potential of these EOs on skin and mucous membranes, it is commonly recommended by practitioners that EOs are used only in diluted forms for external application (Carmo et al 2013).…”

Early State Research on Antifungal Natural Products

“…Recent studies continue to demonstrate the antifungal activity of essential oils [80,81,82,83] and consequently increase the possibility of applying these products to the prevention and/or treatment of fungal infectious diseases. The biological activity of essential oils has been shown to be dependent on their chemical compositions, which include citral, pinene, cineole, caryophyllene, elemene, furanodiene, limonene eugenol, eucalyptol and carvacrol.…”

“…One example is the research conducted by Carmo et al . [81], which tested the essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus in shampoo and cream formulations to treat pityriasis versicolor. They proved that the formulations, which did not cause significant adverse reactions in healthy volunteers, were safe, and after treatment, a 60% mycological cure rate was observed for the group treated with this essential oil.…”