Avaliação da atividade antifúngica dos óleos essencias de Lippia alba (Mill.) N. E. Brown(Verbenaceae) e Cymbopogon citratus (D.C.)Stapf (Poaceae)

The use of medicinal plants is widespread throughout the world including Brazil, where there is a great variety of species and extensive tradition in its use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of the following essential oils; Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Brown (Verbenaceae), and Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf individually as well as its mixture. The extraction of these essential oils was done with dried leaves, using the technique of distillation by steam suction on the Clevenger apparatus for a period of 3 hours. Antifungal activity was determined by Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), obtained by micro-dilution techniques and Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC), front strains of Candida albicans (ATCC 10231), Candida tropicalis (ATCC 28707) and Candida parapsilosis (ATCC 22019).From the results obtained, it was found that the essential oils Lippia alba and Cymbopogon citratus showed antifungal activity against all strains of Candida, being that better activity was observed by the essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus. It was also seen that the blend of the essential oils did not strengthen the antifungal activity against the microorganisms that were tested. However, this study was only the first step, requiring new research to assess the interaction between the oils, as well as determine which specific substances are responsible for this activity.