Composition and antifungal activity of the essential oil of Mentha cervina from Portugal

Abstract

The chemical composition of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of Mentha cervinacollected during the flowering and vegetative phases of the plants were investigated by GC and GC-MS. Quantitative differences were observed in the compositions, particularly in the amounts of pulegone (12.9–79.6%) and isomenthone (8.7–77.0%). Antifungal activity of the oils was evaluated by minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimal lethal concentrations (MLC) against Candida, Apergillusand dermatophyte strains. Antifungal activity of the sample containing lower amounts of pulegone was the highest for dermatophytes, particularly for Epidermophyton floccosumwith MIC and MLC values of 0.63 µL mL - 1. Mentha cervinaoils with low content of pulegone, may be an alternative as antifungal agents in dermatophytosis.