Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity of Salvia officinalis L. essential oil against Candida albicans. Methods: The agar disc diffusion method was used for the screening of anticandidal activity of S. officanalis L. essential oil and 0.2% chlorhexidine gluconate solution was used as positive control. The test yeast strains consisted of C. albicans ATCC 90028 and 2 clinical strains isolated from lesions of patients with candidiasis. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal lethal concentration (MLC) were determined by modified membrane method of Tantaoui-Elaraki et al. in 1992.
Result: By the disc diffusion method, the mean inhibition zone (mm.) of the S. officinalis L. essential oil against C. albicans ATCC 90028, clinical isolate I and clinical isolate II were 31.50±9.97, 24±1.26 and 24.33±4.71, respectively. The MIC and MLC against all test strains were 5.875 mg/ml.
Conclusion: Salvia officinalis L. essential oil was shown to have antimicrobial activity against C. albicans and the result suggests that it may be beneficial to use as an agent to treat patients with candidiasis.