The In Vitro Anti-Yeast Activity of Some Essential Oils

The in vitro anti-fungal activity of twelve commercially available essential oils were tested against five pathogenic species of yeasts (Candida albicans, C. stellatoidea, C. tropicalis, Torulopsis candida and T. versitilis) using the paper disc plate method. Trosyd (tioconazole) was taken as standard inhibitor. From the investigated oils, five exhibited various degrees of inhibition to all test yeasts; these were cinnamon, clove, horseradish, marjoram and peppermint. Cinnamon is the most effective oil in front of all pathogenic yeasts studied and C. tropicalis has shown the greatest degree of sensitivity to this oil. On the other hand, cacao oil exhibited weak suppressive effect against C. stellatoidea only.