Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2009) 83:1127–1133
DOI 10.1007/s00253-009-2017-5
APPLIED MICROBIAL AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
Antifungal potential of essential oil and various organic
extracts of Nandina domestica Thunb. against skin infectious
fungal pathogens
Vivek K. Bajpai & Jung In Yoon & Sun Chul Kang
Received: 2 March 2009 / Revised: 16 April 2009 / Accepted: 18 April 2009 / Published online: 5 May 2009
# Springer-Verlag 2009
Abstract This study was undertaken to assess the in vitro
antifungal potential of the essential oil and n-hexane,
chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of Nandina
domestica Thunb. against dermatophytes, the casual agents
of superficial infections in animals and human beings. The
oil (1,000 μg/disc) and extracts (1,500 μg/disc) revealed
31.1–68.6% and 19.2–55.1% antidermatophytic effect
against Trichophyton rubrum KCTC 6345, T. rubrum
KCTC 6375, T. rubrum KCTC 6352, Trichophyton menta-
grophytes KCTC 6085, T. mentagrophytes KCTC 6077, T.
mentagrophytes KCTC 6316, Microsporum canis KCTC
6591, M. canis KCTC 6348, and M. canis KCTC 6349,
respectively, along with their respective minimum inhibito-
ry concentration values ranging from 62.5 to 500 and 125
to 2,000 μg/ml. Also, the oil had strong detrimental effect
on spore germination of all the tested dermatophytic fungi
as well as concentration and time-dependent kinetic
inhibition of T. rubrum KCTC 6375. The present results
demonstrated that N. domestica mediated oil and extracts
could be potential sources of natural fungicides to control
certain important dermatophytic fungi.
Keywords Nandina domestica Thunb. .
Antifungal potential . Essential oil . Organic extracts .
Skin infectious fungal pathogens
V. K. Bajpai : J. I. Yoon : S. C. Kang (*)
Department of Biotechnology, College of Engineering,
Daegu University,
Kyoungsan, Kyoungbook 712-714, Republic of Korea
e-mail: sckang@daegu.ac.kr
Introduction
The incidence of dermatophytic infections has increased
considerably during the past decades. Dermatophytes are
responsible for serious human pathogenic disorders in
various parts of the world and, although control measures
are available, they are of limited effectiveness (Iwata 1992).
The advent of HIV infection and immunosuppression
induced for organ transplants or by cancer chemotherapy
lead to increased pre-disposition to fungal infections (Walsh
et al. 2004). Also, the abuse of the antibiotics has resulted
in the development of drug resistance to fungal pathogens.
This is why fungal infections are the higher prevalence of
risk factors for the patients in hospital (Grewe et al. 1998).
As a result, work on alternative approaches to control such
pathogens is important. Dermatophytoses, considered as
zoonosis, have created more public health concerns due to
the close contact between humans, particularly children,
and animals. The clinical symptoms may not pose a serious
threat; however, effective treatment is usually costly and
time-consuming since the increasing resistance incidence in
known fungal pathogens to the currently available anti-
biotics has become apparent (Ghannoum and Rice 1999;
Neely and Ghannoum 2000). Also, conventional antifungal
agents such as chlorhexidine and imidazole derivatives
have limited uses in the pregnant and the young due to their
common side effects such as hepatotoxicity, nausea,
diarrhea, and impotency (Curtis 1998). Besides, the
mycotoxins produced by such fungal pathogens are the
most dangerous, and about 4.5 billion people in underde-
veloped countries are exposed to the deleterious effects of
such pathogens (Hawksworth et al. 2008). Some synthetic
fungicides can also cause environmental pollution owing to
their slow biodegradation in the environment.
1128
Resistance to traditional fungicides, the limitation of the
number of fungicides allowed for dermal application, and
increasing public concern regarding skin infectious fungal
diseases have also increased the need for the development of
new safe and biodegradable alternatives (i.e., the so-called
“natural” fungicides). Thus, there has been a growing interest
on the research of the possible use of natural products such as
plant-based essential oils and extracts, which can be relatively
less harmful for disease control and environmental pollution.
Moreover, antifungal substances from plant essential oils
and extracts have been investigated extensively to achieve
higher levels of human safety standards (Baker et al. 1989).
The screening of such natural products should offer
potential resources since their use in various industries of
applied microbiology and biotechnology including medical
mycology is widespread, with much of the research
population relying on them.
Nandina domestica (heavenly bamboo or sacred bam-
boo) is a suckering shrub in the barberry family, Berber-
idaceae; it is a monotypic genus, with this species as its
only member. It is native to eastern Asia from the
Himalaya, east to Japan. Despite the common name, it is
not a bamboo at all. It is an erect shrub growing to 2 m tall,
with numerous, usually, unbranched stems growing from
the roots. The leaves are evergreen; however, in spring, the
leaves are brightly colored pink to red before turning green.
The flowers are white, borne in early summer in conical
clusters held well above the foliage. It is widely grown in
gardens as an ornamental plant; over 60 cultivars have been
named. It has become naturalized in parts of eastern North
America. In the Southeastern United States, it is considered
by many as a pest due to its invasive nature.
Previously, we reported the chemical composition and
antimicrobial properties of the essential oil and various organic
extracts of N. domestica against foodborne/spoilage bacteria
and plant pathogenic fungi (Bajpai et al. 2008a, b). In the
present investigation, we assessed the antidermatophytic
potential of essential oil and various organic extracts of N.
domestica against nine skin infectious fungal pathogens.
Materials and methods
Fungal pathogens (dermatophytes)
The fungal pathogens used in this study were Trichophyton
rubrum KCTC 6345, T. rubrum KCTC 6375, T. rubrum
Inhibition ð%Þ ¼ f1
radial growth of treatment ðmmÞ=radial growth of control ðmmÞg  100:
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2009) 83:1127–1133
KCTC 6352, Trichophyton mentagrophytes KCTC 6085, T.
mentagrophytes KCTC 6077, T. mentagrophytes KCTC
6316, Microsporum canis KCTC 6591, M. canis KCTC
6348, and M. canis KCTC 6349, which were obtained from
the Korean agricultural culture collection, Suwon, Republic
of Korea. All the strains were maintained on Sabouraud’s
agar (SBA, Difco, MI, USA) at 4°C.
Preparation of the spore suspension and test sample
The fungal pathogens were grown on SBA plates in the
dark at 28±2°C for 7–9 days, after which time, spores were
harvested from sporulating colonies and suspended in
sterile distilled water containing 0.1% (v/v) Tween 20.
The concentration of spores in suspension was determined
using a hematocytometer and adjusted to 1.0×108 spores/ml
for each fungal pathogen.
To prepare the test solutions, essential oil and n-hexane,
chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts were
dissolved in 5% dichloromethane, and the solvents (n-
hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol) used for
extraction, respectively, to prepare the stock solutions
with their respective known weights, which were further
diluted with their respective 5% solvent to prepare test
samples, where the final concentration of the solvent was
0.5% (v/v).
In vitro antidermatophytic activity assay
The in vitro antidermatophytic activity of essential oil and
the extracts (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and
methanol) was assessed by disc diffusion method using
SBA in 9-cm petri dishes (Duru et al. 2003). An agar plug
of fungal inoculum (6 mm in diameter) was removed
from a 10-day-old previous culture of all the fungal
pathogens tested and placed upside down in the center of
the SBA plate. Two sterile Whatman paper discs of
6 mm diameter with essential oil (1,000 μg/disc),
controls (dichloromethane), extracts (1,500 μg/disc), and
controls (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and meth-
anol) were pierced in the agar, equidistant in SBA plate
separately. The plates were incubated at 28±2°C for 7–
9 days until the growth in the control plates reaches the
edges of the plates. The assays were carried out in
triplicate. The relative growth inhibition of treatments
relative to control was calculated by percentage using the
following formula:
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2009) 83:1127–1133
In vitro antidermatophytic susceptibility assay
The in vitro susceptibility of dermatophytes was determined
by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination
method (Murray et al. 1995). The MICs of essential oil and
extracts were determined by twofold serial dilution against
the fungi tested. Essential oil and extracts (4 µl each) were
dissolved in the same solvent employed to isolate and
extract the essential oil and organic extracts, respectively,
which were further serially diluted with their respective 5%
solvent (dichloromethane, n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl
acetate, and methanol) and were added to Sabouraud’s
broth (SDB) at final concentrations of 31.25, 62.5, 125,
250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 μg/ml, respectively. A
10-μl spore suspension (1.0×108 spores/ml) of each test
pathogen was inoculated in the test tubes in SDB medium
and incubated at 28±2°C for 2 to 7 days. The control tubes
containing SDB medium were inoculated only with fungal
spore suspension. The minimum concentrations at which no
visible growth was observed were defined as the MICs,
which were expressed in microgram/milliliter.
Spore germination assay
For spore germination assay of the nine human fungal
pathogens, test samples of oil (4 μl) were dissolved in 5%
dichloromethane to obtain 31.25, 62.5, 125, 250, 500,
1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 μg/ml concentrations of the oil,
where the final concentration of the solvent was 0.5%
(Leelasuphakul et al. 2008). The samples were inoculated
with spore suspension of each fungal pathogen containing
1.0×108 spores/ml. From this, aliquots of 10-μl spore
suspension from each were placed on separate glass slides
in triplicate. Slides containing the spores were incubated in
a moisture chamber at 28°C for 4 h. Each slide was then
fixed in lactophenol cotton blue and observed under the
microscope for spore germination. The spores-generated
germ tubes were enumerated, and percentage of spore
germination was calculated. Dichloromethane (0.5%), as a
control, was tested separately for spore germination of the
fungi.
In vitro growth kinetics assay
T. rubrum KCTC 6375, which appeared to be the more
resistant fungus as compared to T. mentagrophytes KCTC
6085 and M. canis KCTC 6348 to the essential oil in spore
germination assay, was chosen as the test fungus for kinetic
study and evaluation of antidermatophytic potential of
essential oil (Rana et al. 1997). A 10-μl spore suspension
(1.0×108 spores/ml) of this fungal pathogen was inoculated
1129
to different concentrations of essential oil (31.25, 62.5, 125,
and 250 μg/ml) in a test tube, and a homogenous
suspension was made by inverting the test tubes three to
four times. After the specific intervals, i.e., 30, 60, 90, 120,
150, and 180 min, the reaction mixture was filtered through
Whatman No. 1 filter paper, and the retained spores were
washed two or three times with sterile distilled water. The
filter was then removed, and spores were washed off into
10 ml of sterile distilled water. From this, 100 μl of spore
suspension was taken onto the glass slide and incubated at
28±2°C for 24 h. The spores-generated germ tubes were
enumerated, and percentage of spore germination was
calculated. Control sets were prepared in 0.5% dichloro-
methane with sterile distilled water. All experiments were
conducted in triplicate.
Statistical analysis
The data obtained in this study were evaluated using the
one-way analysis of variance test, followed by Student’s t
test. Significant levels were considered at P<0.05.
Results
Antidermatophytic activity of essential oil and organic
extracts
The oil of N. domestica exhibited a moderate to high
antidermatophytic activity against all the tested dermato-
phytes. As shown in Table 1, the essential oil (1,000 μg/
disc) showed potent inhibitory effect (51.90% to 68.60%)
on the growth of the tested fungi except T. rubrum KCTC
6345. T. rubrum KCTC 6345 displayed less susceptibility
to the essential oil, and the oil showed 31.10% of
antidermatophytic effect as fungal mycelial growth inhibi-
tion percentage. T. rubrum KCTC 6352, T. mentagrophytes
KCTC 6085, T. mentagrophytes KCTC 6077, and M. canis
KCTC 6348 were found to be the most inhibited fungal
pathogens by the essential oil (Table 1). Besides, the ethyl
acetate extract (1,500 μg/disc) also exhibited remarkable
antidermatophytic effect (31.1% to 55.1%) against all the
fungal pathogens tested (Table 2). The methanol and
chloroform extracts also showed antidermatophytic effect
with their respective fungal mycelial growth inhibition
percentages of 29.1% to 49.2% and 29.1% to 51.2%.
However, mild to moderate antidermatophytic effect for
hexane extract was observed with fungal mycelial growth
inhibition percentage of 19.2% to 33.3%. Furthermore, T.
rubrum KCTC 6345 displayed less susceptibility to the
extracts tested (Table 2).
1130 Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2009) 83:1127–1133

Table 1 Antidermatophytic activity of essential oil (1,000 μg/disc) of Spore germination

Nandina domestica Thunb. against human infectious fungal pathogens

Fungal pathogen Essential oila MICd The results obtained for essential oil from the spore
germination assay of each of the test fungal pathogens are
Radial growth Radial growth shown in Fig. 1. Dichloromethane (0.5%, v/v), as a control,
(mm)b inhibition (%)c
did not inhibit the spore germination of any of the fungal
Trichophyton rubrum 31.03±0.56 31.10±0.15e 500 pathogens tested. The essential oil significantly inhibited
KCTC 6345 the fungal spore germination at the varied concentrations
Trichophyton rubrum 21.36±0.57 53.00±0.27e 125 (31.25–1,000 μg/ml). A 100% inhibition of fungal spore
KCTC 6375
germination was observed for T. mentagrophytes KCTC
Trichophyton rubrum 17.53±0.37 61.10±1.15e 62.5
KCTC 6352 6085, M. canis KCTC 6348, and T. rubrum KCTC 6375 at
Trichophyton 16.26±0.30 63.90±0.25 62.5 250, 250, and 500 μg/ml concentrations of essential oil,
mentagrophytes respectively. The oil also exhibited a potent inhibitory
KCTC 6085
effect on the spore germination of T. rubrum KCTC 6345,
Trichophyton 14.16±0.57 68.60±2.51 62.5
mentagrophytes T. rubrum KCTC 6352, T. mentagrophytes KCTC 6316, T.
KCTC 6077 mentagrophytes KCTC 6077, M. canis KCTC 6591, and M.
Trichophyton 21.40±0.20 52.50±2.10e 125 canis KCTC 6349 in the range of 40% to 90% at
mentagrophytes
concentrations ranging from 250 to 1,000 μg/ml.
KCTC 6313
Microsporum canis 21.66±0.30 51.90±1.25e 125
KCTC 6591 Growth kinetics
Microsporum canis 16.86±0.11 62.60±0.15e 62.5
KCTC 6348
The antidermatophytic kinetics of the essential oil against T.
Microsporum canis 20.90±0.60 53.60±2.20e 125
KCTC 6349 rubrum KCTC 6375 is shown in Fig. 2. Exposure of T.
rubrum KCTC 6375 spores to different concentrations of
Solvent (dichloromethane) as negative control (radial growth diameter the essential oil for a period of 0 to 180 min caused varying
45±0.0 for each fungal strain) had no antifungal effect
degree of inhibition of spore germination. An increase in
a
Essential oil (tested volume 1,000 μg/disc) fungicidal activity was observed with increase in exposure
b
Radial growth of fungal pathogens time and concentration. The essential oil at 31.25 and
c
Radial growth inhibition percentage 62.5 μg/ml showed antifungal activity but not rapid killing,
d
Minimum inhibitory concentration (values in microgram/milliliter) and about 40% to 50% inhibition was observed at exposure
e
Values are given as mean ± SD (n = 3) and considered to be time of 120 min. However, there was a marked increase in
significantly different at P<0.05
the killing rate at 125 and 250 μg/ml after 60 min of
exposure, and 90% to 100% inhibition of spore germination
was observed on 180 min exposure.
Determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations

The MICs, defined as the lowest concentrations of the Discussion

essential oil that resulted in complete growth inhibition of
the tested fungi, were found to be 62.5–500 μg/ml. T.
rubrum KCTC 6352, T. mentagrophytes KCTC 6085, T.
mentagrophytes KCTC 6077, and M. canis KCTC 6348
were found to be the most susceptible fungal pathogens to
the essential oil of N. domestica. Methanol, ethyl acetate,
and chloroform extracts also displayed potential effect of
antidermatophytic activity as MICs against the tested fungal
pathogens, with their respective MIC values ranging from
250 to 1,000, 125 to 1,000, and 500 to 2,000 μg/ml
(Table 3). As control, each 5% solvent (dichloromethane, n-
hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol) did not
affect the growth of the sample strains in this study.
However, mild to moderate antidermatophytic effect
(1,000 to 2,000 μg/ml) of hexane extract was observed
against the tested fungal pathogens as a MIC.
The increasing health implications caused by human
infectious fungal pathogens means there is a need to
develop safe and new natural antifungal agents that could
be used in the field of medical mycology to cure human
fungal disorders. The estimated lifetime risk of acquiring a
dermatophyte infection is between 10% and 20%. Essential
oils and extracts from plant species have long been used for
treatment of various diseases, including skin conditions,
and there is at least some evidence that natural products
may tend to have less deleterious side effects than
corresponding synthetic drugs (Tavares et al. 2008). In
general, plant-derived essential oils and extracts are
considered as non-phytotoxic compounds and potentially
effective against several microorganisms including fungal
and bacterial pathogens (Pandey et al. 1982; Chung et al.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2009) 83:1127–1133 1131

Table 2 Antidermatophytic activity of organic extracts (1,500 μg/disc) of Nandina domestica Thunb. against human infectious fungal pathogens

Fungal pathogen Radial growth inhibition

HXE CHE ETE MNE

Millimetera Percentb Millimeter Percent Millimeter Percent Millimeter Percent

Trichophyton rubrum KCTC 6345 36.7±1.1 19.2±2.0c 31.8±1.2 29.4±2.0c 32.7 ±0.5 31.4±1.1c 30.9±1.0 31.3±2.1c
Trichophyton rubrum KCTC 6375 35.3 ±1.2 23.3±1.1c 30.5±1.4 33.0±1.0c 26.2 ±0.5 43.2±1.1c 26.8±1.0 41.3±2.3c
Trichophyton rubrum KCTC 6352 36.9±1.1 20.4±2.0c 31.9±1.4 29.1±2.5c 32.1 ±1.0 31.1±1.5c 28.5±1.0 37.1±2.3c
Trichophyton mentagrophytes KCTC 6085 30.7±1.7 33.3±3.0c 22.4±1.1 51.2±2.3 24.1 ±1.1 47.3±1.5c 25.5±1.0 44.0±1.0c
Trichophyton mentagrophytes KCTC 6077 34.6±1.3 24.3±1.3c 30.7±1.3 32.6±2.5c 20.2 ±1.5 55.1±1.1 26.5±0.5 42.2±1.7c
Trichophyton mentagrophytes KCTC 6313 33.2±1.2 27.3±1.3c 26.8±1.5 41.2±3.2c 24.3 ±1.5 47.0±2.1c 32.0±1.0 29.1±2.3c
Microsporum canis KCTC 6591 35.8±1.7 22.1±1.5c 27.5±1.2 39.6±3.1c 26.3 ±1.6 42.0±1.6c 26.3±1.5 43.1±2.1c
Microsporum canis KCTC 6348 34.8±1.2 24.3±2.3c 26.8±1.4 40.2±2.3c 23.1 ±1.5 49.1±1.2c 23.1±1.2 49.2±3.0c
Microsporum canis KCTC 6349 33.1±1.5 27.3±1.5c 26.5±1.5 41.3±2.1c 26.8 ±1.5 40.2±3.1c 26.7±1.0 41.2±2.3c

Solvents (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol) as negative controls (radial growth diameter 45±0.0 for each fungal strain) had no
antifungal effect
HXE hexane extract, CHE chloroform extract, ETE ethyl acetate extract, MNE methanol extract
a
Radial growth of fungal pathogens
b
Percentage of radial growth inhibition
c
Values are given as mean±S.D. (n=3), and considered to be significantly different at P<0.05

2007). Therefore, they can be used as a natural therapy

against superficial human fungal infections caused by
dermatophytes.
Since ancient times, interests have been focused on the
Table 3 Determination of minimum inhibitory concentration of development of safer antifungal agents to control severe
various organic extracts of Nandina domestica Thunb. against human
fungal diseases by the essential oils and extracts (Chung et
infectious fungal pathogens
al. 2007; Prasad et al. 2004). Previously our research group
Fungal pathogen MIC and other researchers have documented the antifungal
properties of various plant essential oils and extracts
HXE CHE ETE MNE
(Bajpai et al. 2009; Tavares et al. 2008; Yousef and Tawil
Trichophyton rubrum 2,000 2,000 500 1,000 1980).
KCTC 6345 In the present study, the hydrodistillated essential oil
Trichophyton rubrum 1,000 500 500 500 isolated from the floral parts of N. domestica consisted of
KCTC 6375
mono- and sesquiterpenes, and mono- and sesquiterpene
Trichophyton rubrum 2,000 500 125 500
KCTC 6352 hydrocarbons (Bajpai et al. 2008b). In recent years, several
Trichophyton mentagrophytes 2,000 500 250 500 researchers have reported the mono- and sesquiterpenes,
KCTC 6085 and mono- and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons as the major
Trichophyton mentagrophytes 1,000 500 250 250
components of essential oils of plant origin, which have
KCTC 6077
Trichophyton mentagrophytes 2,000 1,000 500 500 enormous potential to strongly inhibit the microbial
KCTC 6313 pathogens (Cakir et al. 2004). In general, the active
Microsporum canis KCTC 6591 2,000 500 500 1,000 antimicrobial compounds of essential oils are phenolic
Microsporum canis KCTC 6348 1,000 500 250 250 terpenes such as thymol and carvacrol; it would seem
Microsporum canis KCTC 6349 2,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 reasonable that their antifungal mode of action might be
related to that of other compounds. Most of the studies on
Solvents (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol) as negative
controls had no antifungal effect the mechanism of phenolic compounds have focused on
Values are given as mean±SD (n=3)
their effects on cellular membranes. Actually, phenolic
MIC minimum inhibitory concentration (values in microgram/millili-
compounds not only attack cell walls and cell membranes,
ter), HXE hexane extract, CHE chloroform extract, ETE ethyl acetate thereby affecting the permeability and release of intracellu-
extract, MNE methanol extract lar constituents, but they also interfere with membrane
1132
Fig. 1 Effect of different concentrations (microgram/milliliter) of the essential oil of Nandina domestica Thunb. on spore germination of tested
human infectious fungal pathogens. *Values are given as mean±SD (n=3) and considered to be significantly different at P<0.05
function. Thus, active phenolic compounds might have
several invasive targets, which could lead to the inhibition
of human infectious fungal pathogens.
In the present study, the essential oil of N. domestica
showed potential antidermatophytic effect against the tested
human infectious fungal pathogens. This research work also
describes the complex effect of the oil on fungal spore
germination and exhibited a wide range of antidermatophytic
activity. During the kinetic study of T. rubrum KCTC 6375,
it appeared that the exposure time of the oil had a little
effect on the fungicidal activity at lower concentration, but
at the concentration of 125 and 250 μg/ml, the fungicidal
action was very rapid and showed 90% to 100% spore
germination inhibition of T. rubrum KCTC 6375. The
activities of the oil could be attributed to the presence of
major components of the oil such as 1-indolizino carbazole,
2-pentanone, monophenol, azridine, methylcarbinol, etha-
none, furfural, 1-hydroxy-4-methylbenzene, 2(5H)-fura-
none, and 3,5-dimethylpyrazole (Bajpai et al., 2008a), and
these findings are in agreement with previous research
literature reported by others (Tavares et al. 2008; Chung et
al. 2007). Also, the results of the antifungal screening
showed that methanol, ethyl acetate, and chloroform
extracts of the plant sample have potential antidermato-
phytic effect against some of the tested fungal pathogens.
This antidermatophytic effect might be exerted due to the
Fig. 2 Kinetics of inhibition of Trichophyton rubrum KCTC 6375 spores by the essential oil of Nandina domestica Thunb. *Values are given as
mean±SD (n=3) and considered to be significantly different at P<0.05
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2009) 83:1127–1133
presence of several bioactive compounds in various extracts
of N. domestica as evident by the findings of others (Urzua
and Mendoza 1998; Perry and Foster 1994). Further, as
shown in Table 1, the essential oil showed potential
antidermatophytic effect in case of T. rubrum KCTC
6352, T. mentagrophytes KCTC 6085, T. mentagrophytes
KCTC 6077, and M. canis KCTC 6348, with MIC value of
62.5 μg/ml for each fungal pathogen. Earlier papers on the
analysis and antifungal properties of the essential oils of
some species have shown that they have a varying degree
of antidermatophytic effects against some of the human
infectious fungal pathogens due to their different chemical
compositions (Tavares et al. 2008; Chung et al. 2007). In
this study, it has become clear that the essential oil and
extracts of N. domestica have great potential to strongly
inhibit the members of the Trichophyton and Microsporum
species causing certain superficial fungal infections of the
skin known as tinea infections such as tinea capitis, tinea
pedis, tinea corporis, and onychomycosis. However, from
some plant oils such as wintergreen, eucalyptus, clove, and
sage, there has been much research and reporting of toxic
and irritant properties (Lawless 1995; Newall et al. 1996;
Reynolds 1996). In spite of this, most of these oils are
available for purchase as whole oils or as a part of
pharmaceutical or medicinal products, indicating that toxic
properties do not prohibit their use.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2009) 83:1127–1133
In addition, certain plant essential oils, extracts, and
phytochemicals act in many ways on various types of
disease complex and may potentially contribute in the field
of applied microbiology and biotechnology including
medical mycology as the supplement to control human
pathogenic fungi in the future as fast and reliable
alternatives. The development of natural antifungal agents
would also help to decrease the negative impact of synthetic
agents such as residues, resistance, and environmental
pollution. In this respect, natural fungicides may be
effective, selective, biodegradable, and less toxic to the
environment. On the other hand, the use of plant essential
oils in consumer goods is expected to increase in the future
due to the risk of “green consumerism”, which stimulates
the use and development of products derived from plants,
as both consumers and regulatory agencies are more
comfortable with the use of natural antimicrobials (Tuley
de Silva 1996). The results obtained in this study
potentially suggested that N. domestica can be used as a
leading factor in a wide range of activities. Thus, it can be
concluded that its essential oil and crude extracts could be
used as a potential source of natural antidermatophytic
agents to control dermatophytic fungi, which cause super-
ficial fungal infections in human beings. However, the
effect of external conditions on chemical composition of
plants has been recognized for more than 90 years. The
environment affects the essential oil composition directly
through metabolic processes and indirectly through plant
growth. The total accumulation depends upon the genetic
composition of the plant, and it varies between genera and
species. Within a species itself, altering the environmental
and genetic composition will produce different quantities
and types of essential oil (Bernath and Tetenyi 1978). Thus,
further study would be conducted on the effect of genetic
and environmental factors on the chemical composition
and the toxic or irritant properties of N. domestica
essential oil.
References
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inhibitory parameters of essential oil and extracts of Nandina
domestica Thunb. to control food-borne pathogenic and spoilage
bacteria. Int J Food Microbiol 125:117–122
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