JAC Advance Access originally published online on December 1, 2004
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2005 55(1):110-114; doi:10.1093/jac/dkh503
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JAC vol.55 no.1 © The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2004; all rights reserved
In vitro activity of bergamot natural essence and furocoumarin-free and distilled extracts, and their associations with boric acid, against clinical yeast isolates
1 Institute of Microbiology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; 2 Unit of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Hospital of San Filippo Neri, Rome; 3 Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
* Corresponding author. Tel: +39-06-30154964; Fax: +39-06-3051152; Email: msanguinetti{at}rm.unicatt.it
Objectives: There is very little information, to date, on the antifungal activity of bergamot oil. In this study, we investigated the in vitro activity of three bergamot oils (natural essence, furocoumarin-free extract and distilled extract) against clinically relevant Candida species. We studied the two derivatives, components of Italian pharmaceutical products, that are supposed to be less toxic than the essential oil.
Methods: In vitro susceptibility of 40 clinical isolates of Candida spp. (Candida albicans, n=20; Candida glabrata, n=13; Candida krusei, n=4; Candida tropicalis, n=2; Candida parapsilosis, n=1), associated with symptomatic and asymptomatic vulvovaginal candidiasis, was determined using a modification of the NCCLS M27-A2 broth microdilution method. MICs were evaluated for each of the oils alone and combined with sub-inhibitory concentrations of the well-known antiseptic, boric acid. To boric acid, all isolates had MIC values ranging from 0.094% to 0.187% (w/v).
Results: At 24 h readings, the MIC90 s (for all isolates) were (v/v): 5% for natural essence of bergamot, 2.5% for the furocoumarin-free extract, and 1.25% for the distilled extract. At the 48 h reading, these values increased to >10%, 5% and 2.5%, respectively. At both readings, MIC90 s for all oil+boric acid combinations were significantly lower than corresponding values for the oils alone (P <0.05).
Conclusions: These data indicate that bergamot oils are active in vitro against Candida spp., suggesting their potential role for the topical treatment of Candida infections.
Keywords: bergamot oils , yeasts , MICs
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