Dermatophytoses account for nearly a quarter of all fungal infections worldwide. These difficult to treat infections of the skin, hair, and nails, are growing more resistant to conventional antifungal treatments, and when treatable, often require prolonged therapeutic regimens. For centuries, essential oils have been used to treat a variety of ailments. In this study, we evaluated the clinical effects in vitro of 65 essential oils and 21 essential oil blends against various clinical species/strains of dermatophytes from two primary genera, Microsporum and Trichophyton. Our aim: To determine the overall activity of a wide range of essential oils against a number of clinical strains of dermatophytes. For all assays, 16 clinically derived species/strains of dermatophytes were used. The activity of each essential oil was assessed using a modified disk-diffusion assay over a period of 21 days of incubation vs. standard antifungal drugs. Subsequently, we determined the minimum inhibitory dilution possible for the most potent essential oils and performed combination testing to determine if synergy could be demonstrated with sub-inhibitory concentrations. We also assessed the effect of repeated vs. single applications. Of all the essential oils tested, cassia, cilantro, cinnamon, thyme, and oregano were the most potent along with one blend, DDR Prime; all genera/species tested were completely inhibited for 21 days following a single application. Many of the other oils tested exhibited temporal differences in activity where significant inhibition was observed ≤10 days of incubation which declined by day 21. Synergistic combinations were achieved with oregano and cilantro, cassia, or cinnamon bark; rose and cassia were also synergistic. Repeat application maintained complete inhibition for citronella, lemon myrtle, and litsea out to 21 days, but not lemon grass or On Guard. More study is necessary to understand the ways essential oils inhibit the growth of dermatophytes. Comprehensive research aimed at understanding the mechanism of action of essential oils and their components may provide the basis for a natural alternative to topical antifungal drugs. Such research could be envisioned to target optimal combinations and determine the timing between applications to provide for maximum inhibition of recurrence or growth.

皮肤真菌病占全世界所有真菌感染的近四分之一。这些难以治疗的皮肤，头发和指甲感染，对常规的抗真菌治疗越来越有抵抗力，并且当可以治疗时，通常需要延长治疗方案。几个世纪以来，精油已被用于治疗各种疾病。在这项研究中，我们评估了临床效果体外 来自两个主要属的65种精油和21种精油共混物针对各种临床物种/皮肤癣菌的菌株， 小孢子菌 和 毛癣菌。我们的目标：确定各种精油对许多临床皮肤癣菌菌株的总体活性。对于所有测定，使用了16种临床上衍生的皮肤真菌物种/菌株。与标准抗真菌药相比，在21天的温育期间，使用改良的圆盘扩散测定法评估了每种精油的活性。随后，我们确定了最有效的精油的最小抑制稀释度，并进行了组合测试，以确定是否可以在亚抑制浓度下证明协同作用。我们还评估了重复与单次应用的效果。在所有测试过的香精油中，决明子，香菜，肉桂，百里香和牛至和一种混合物DDR Prime最有效。一次施用后，所有测试的属/种均被完全抑制21天。测试的许多其他油类均表现出活性的时间差异，其中观察到显着的抑制作用≤10天，而到21天时有所下降。牛至和香菜，肉桂或肉桂皮可实现协同作用。玫瑰和决明子也具有协同作用。重复施用对香茅油，柠檬默特尔和小花蛤完全抑制了21天，但对柠檬草或On Guard则没有。要了解精油抑制皮肤真菌生长的方式，还需要进行更多的研究。旨在了解香精油及其成分的作用机理的综合研究可为天然抗真菌药物的替代提供基础。