Cinnamon leaf and clove essential oils are potent inhibitors of Candida albicans virulence traits.

Date
2022-10-08
Authors
Shahina, Zinnat
Molaeitabari, Ali
Sultana, Taranum
Dahms, Tanya Elizabeth Susan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract

Plant-based essential oils are promising anti-virulence agents against the multidrug-resistant opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon) leaf and Eugenia caryophyllus (clove) flower bud essential oils revealed eugenol (73 and 75%, respectively) as their major component, with β-caryophyllene, eugenyl acetate, and α-humulene as common minor components. Cinnamon leaf and clove essential oils had minimum inhibitory concentrations of 600 and 500 µg/mL, respectively against the C. albicans RSY150 reference strain and 1000 and 750 µg/mL, respectively for the clinical reference strain ATCC 10231. The combined oils are additive (FICI = 0.72 ± 0.16) and synergistic (0.5 ± 0.0) against RSY150 and the clinical reference strain, respectively. Mycelial growth was inhibited by sublethal concentrations of either essential oil, which abolished colony growth. At half of the lowest combined lethal concentration for the two oils, the yeast-to-hyphal transition and mycelial growth was potently inhibited. Mutant strains als1Δ/Δ, als3Δ/Δ, hwp1Δ/HWP1+, and efg1Δ/Δ were sensitive to either or both oils, especially efg1Δ/Δ. In conclusion, oils of cinnamon leaf and clove and their combination significantly impact C. albicans virulence by inhibiting hyphal and mycelial growth.

Description
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords
antifungals, anti-virulence, Candida albicans, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Eugenia caryophyllus, plant-based essential oils, synergism
Citation
Shahina, Z.; Molaeitabari, A.; Sultana, T.; Dahms, T.E.S. Cinnamon Leaf and Clove Essential Oils Are Potent Inhibitors of Candida albicans Virulence Traits. Microorganisms 2022, 10, 1989. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10101989
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