ANTIFUNGAL POTENTIAL OF ESSENTIAL OILS FROM LEAVES OF SYZYGIUM CUMINI AND PSIDIUM GUAJAVA AGAINST CANDIDA ALBICANS

Abstract

Candida albicans, inhabits the urogenital and gastrointestinal tract as a commensal yeast and its growth is limited by the action of immune system. Plant-derived natural products play a vital role in pharmaceutical field, since substantial quantity of contemporary medicines are obtained either from naturally occurring molecules or their byproducts. With this background, Syzygium cumini and Psidium guajava have been selected for the present investigation. We explored whether essential oils (EOs) from leaves of S. cumini and P. guajava can hinder the harmful behaviors of C. albicans, a pathogen that often takes advantage of weakened immune systems. The EOs derived from the leaves of S. cumini and P. guajava were extracted by hydro-distillation method and main components were analyzed using GC–MS. Sub-MIC concentrations of EOs were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the EOs against biofilm formation and hyphal transition of C. albicans. The most dominant components in S. cumini were identified as α-Cadinol (24.33%), Naphthalene (13.878%), Spathulenol (12.47%) and in case of. P. guajava oil, Caryophyllene oxide (36.09%), β-Nerolidol (23.40%), Epoxy farnesol (4.12%), Humulene epoxide (3.89%) and α-Cadinol (3.65%) were identified as major components. In a sub-lethal concentration (4% and 8% v/V), essential oil blocked the hyphal transition, a major virulence factor of C. albicans. The results demonstrated that EOs of the selected plants were able to reduce biofilm formation by as much as 50%, with the effect increasing in a dose-dependent fashion. The molecular docking studies reveal that the dominant compounds had considerable binding affinities against adhesin. These findings indicate that both EOs might possess the capacity to inhibit the growth and colonization of C. albicans, highlighting potential usage for a range of antifungal applications.