Effect of Clove and Thyme Essential Oils on Candida Biofilm Formation and the Oil Distribution in Yeast Cells

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2019-05, Vol.24 (10), p.1954
• Main Authors: Rajkowska, Katarzyna, Nowicka-Krawczyk, Paulina, Kunicka-Styczyńska, Alina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: anticandidal activity; Antifungal agents; Antifungal Agents - chemistry; Antifungal Agents - pharmacology; biofilm; Biofilms; Biofilms - drug effects; Biomedical materials; Candida; Candida albicans - drug effects; Candida albicans - pathogenicity; Cell membranes; Cell Wall - drug effects; Cell walls; Clove Oil - chemistry; Clove Oil - pharmacology; Colonization; confocal laser scanning microscopy; Confocal microscopy; Contact angle; Cytoplasm; Detoxification; Drug resistance; Essential oils; Extracellular matrix; Food; food-borne Candida sp; Fungicides; Medical equipment; Metabolism; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Oils & fats; Oils, Volatile - chemistry; Oils, Volatile - pharmacology; Planktonic cells; Plant Oils - chemistry; Plant Oils - pharmacology; Polyethylene; Polyethylene terephthalate; Prevention; Scanning microscopy; Statistical analysis; Sutures; Syzygium - chemistry; Thyme; Thymus Plant - chemistry; Vacuoles; Virulence; Yeast; Yeasts
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules24101954

biofilm structure is particularly difficult to eradicate, since biofilm is much more resistant to antifungal agents than planktonic cells. In this context, a more effective strategy seems to be the prevention of biofilm formation than its eradication. The aim of the study was to examine whether the process of initial colonization of materials (glass, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene) by food-borne sp. can be impeded by clove and thyme essential oils, used at their minimal inhibitory concentrations. In the presence of clove oil, 68.4-84.2% of the yeast tested showed a statistically significant reduction in biofilm formation, depending on the material. After treatment with thyme oil, statistically significant decrease in biofilm cell numbers was observed for 63.2-73.7% of yeasts. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed diverse compounds of clove and thyme oils that were disparately located in cell, on a cell wall and a cell membrane, in cytoplasm, and in vacuoles, depicting the multidirectional action of essential oils. However, essential oils that were used in sub-inhibitory concentration were sequestrated in the yeast vacuoles, which indicate the activation of defense mechanisms by cell detoxification. Clove and thyme essential oils due to their anti-biofilm activity can be efficiently used in the prevention of the tested abiotic surfaces colonization by sp.