Antifungal Activities of Essential Oils from Protium ovatum Engl. Against Malassezia furfur and Candida Species

Fungal opportunistic infections have increased in recent decades due to the increase in the immunosuppressed patients and the indiscriminate use of antifungals. In Brazil, a country with the greatest biodiversity in the world, studies that seek new antifungals from natural sources have been stimulated. Protium ovatum Engl., belongs to the Burseraceae family and is a shrub tree found mainly in Brazil, in the Cerrado biome, and has medicinal, food and aromatic uses. This study aims to investigate the chemical composition and the anti-Malassezia furfur and anticandidal activities of essential oils (EOs) from Protium ovatum ripe fruit (RF-EO) and unripe fruit (UF-EO). The EOs antifungal activities were determined by microdilution broth methodology. GC-FID and GC-MS analyses showed that limonene, α-pinene and myrcene were the major components of both EOs. MIC values of RF-EO and UF-EO against M. furfur were 375 and 1500 µg/mL, respectively. RF-EO exhibited MIC values between 62.5 and 250 µg/mL while UF-EO was slightly active (> 1000 µg/mL) against Candida species. In addition, RF-EO showed antibiofilm activity against Candida species and was not toxic to C. elegans larvae. This study suggests that EOs from P. ovatum could be an alternative therapeutic option for infectious diseases caused by M. furfur and Candida species.