Method: For this study, were made 14 specimens of acrylic resin chemically activated (polymethyl methacrylate). In a sterile tubes were added: one sterile acrylic resin specimen, 0.9mL of RPMI 1640 broth, 0.1mL of fungal suspension (1.5x106 CFU/mL) and 1.0ml of C. winterianus essential oil 2%, or sodium hypochlorite 1%, or sterile saline (growth control). The tested products were evaluated in two conditions of organism’s organization: t=0h (planktonic step) and t=24h (aggregation of cells step). The organisms that adhered to the specimens were dispersed, diluted 100 and 1000 times in sterile saline and transferred, in triplicate, to Sabouraud Dextrose agar plates. After 24 hours incubation at 37°C, the number of Colony Forming Units per milliliter (CFU/mL) was determined for each specimen. The results were statistically analyzed by Mann-Whitney test (α = 0.05).
Result: For t=0h, the average of CFU/mL x106 obtained for C. winterianus essential oil and sodium hypochlorite were, respectively: 21.3 and 0.0, with significant statistically difference (p<0.05). For t=24h, the average of CFU/mL x106 obtained for C. winterianus essential oil and sodium hypochlorite were, respectively: 1.5 and 0.0, with no significant statistically difference (p>0.05). The C. winterianus essential oil presented greater inhibitory effect for t=24h (p<0.05), while sodium hypochlorite had similar effect for t=0h and t=24h (p>0.05). The tested products showed reduction of contamination in relation to growth control (p <0.05).
Conclusion: The C. winterianus essential oil reduced the contamination of Candida albicans on the surface of acrylic resin, and demonstrated better effect for t=24h, with similar activity to sodium hypochlorite.