ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
R. Rachel1, M. Anuradha2 and K.V. Leela1
1Department of Microbiology, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.
2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.
Article Number: 9688 | © The Author(s). 2024
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2024;18(4):2438-2445. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.18.4.16
Received: 02 July 2024 | Accepted: 21 September 2024 | Published online: 13 November 2024
Issue online: December 2024
Abstract

Candida species exist as commensals in nature, colonizing the mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract, vagina as well as the skin and usually cause infections in immunocompromised patients. C. albicans are known to be the most prevalent Candida species associated with infections, while there has been a significant surge in the incidence of Non-Candida albicans Candida species (NCAC) recently. The recent occurrences of the antifungal resistance in Candida, especially in NCAC species are quite alarming which raises the need for a safe and efficient alternative antimycotic drug. This study analyses the efficacy of cinnamaldehyde against Candida species, which is known to cause the majority of the fungal infections in humans. Cinnamaldehyde is a natural antimicrobial compound derived from cinnamon and has demonstrated significant antimycotic properties. Antifungal susceptibility profiles of cinnamaldehyde against Candida species were studied by disc diffusion as well as by broth microdilution assays. The mean diameter of the inhibition zone (IZ) formed by direct contact and disc volatilization assays were 61.26 mM and 65.20 mM, respectively. Both the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of cinnamaldehyde ranged from 16-256 mg/L with mean MIC of 60.61 mg/L and a mean MFC of 81.94 mg/L. Co-incubation of Candida cells with cinnamaldehyde resulted in the loss of viable cells within 4 hours of incubation. Cinnamaldehyde was found to exhibit both fungistatic and fungicidal properties, making it a potent natural alternative for conventional antifungal agents.

Keywords

Antimycotic Agent, Disc Diffusion Assay, Disc Volatilization Assay, Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC), Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)

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© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.