Antifungal activity, cytotoxicity and composition of essential oils from the Asteraceae plant family

Background: The plants of the Asteraceae family have been used for medicinal purposes,in traditional Colombian medicine. Aim: To evaluate the antifungal activity and the cytotoxic effects of 15 essential oils from plants of the Asteraceae family. Methods: Antifungal activity was evaluated against Candida parapsilosis ATCC 22019, Candida krusei ATCC 6258, Aspergillus flavus ATCC 204304 and Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC 204305 following EUCAST and CLSI M38-A standard methods, for yeast and filamentous fungi, respectively. Cytotoxic effect was evaluated on Vero cell line by MTT assay. Results: The oils from the plants Achyrocline alata and Baccharis latifolia were the only ones active against A. fumigatus (GM-MIC = 78.7 and 157.4 mu g/ml, respectively). In contrast, there was no evidence of oils active against Candida species. In addition, these oils were not cytotoxic on Vero cells. The oils of A. alata and Baccharis latifolia could be candidates for disinfecting hospital environments and for inhibiting biofilm formation by A. fumigatus Conclusions: The oils of A. alata and B. latifolia could be candidates for disinfecting hospital environments and for inhibiting biofilm formation by A. fumigatus (C) 2009 Revista Iberoamericana de Micologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.