Method: The antifungal activity of essential oils was determined by Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimal Fungicidal Concentration (MFC), obtained by the microdilution and depletion techniques, respectively. The MIC was obtained using 96-well microplates, in which were inserted 100 µL of RPMI 1640 broth doubly concentrated, 100 µL of the dilution of essential oils and 10 µL of fungal inoculum (1.5x106 organisms/mL). The products were diluted from initial concentration of 8% until 0.0625%. The MIC corresponded to the last dilution in which there was no presence of fungal precipitate or turbidity in the culture medium. The MFC was obtained by sowing, in Sabouraud-Dextrose agar, 10 µL aliquots of dilutions corresponding to the MIC and two immediately preceding. The tests were performed in triplicate and the sodium hypochlorite served as control.
Result: For C. albicans, the MIC and MFC of the essential oils from C. martini, O. basilicum and T. vulgaris were 0,0625%, 0,0625% and 0,125%, respectively. For C. tropicalis, the MIC and MFC of the essential oils from C. martini e O. basilicum were 0,0625%, and the MIC and MFC of T. vulgaris were, respectively, 0,125% and 0,25%.
Conclusion: The evaluated products exerted antifungal activity against C. albicans and C. tropicalis, highlighting the essential oils from C. martini and O. basilicum, with lower results of MIC and MFC.