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Abstract
The antifungal activity of Lemon grass Oil (LGO) has been evaluated using fungistatic (MIC and agar diffusion tests) and fungicidal (spore germination) studies. Appreciable activity was observed against various isolates of Candida and clinical isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus, Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The most resistant organism was A. fumigatus while M. gypseum and the Candida spp. were the most susceptible of the isolates. Comparative studies with pure samples of citral and citronellal, constituents of LGO, showed good activity against the test fungi while dipentene and myrcene showed no activity.
Exposure of the spores of A. fumigatus to 0.1% LGO for 5 mins resulted in 93% of spores not germinating while lower concentrations (0.08% and 0.05%) caused 80% and 60% reduction in spore germination respectively. Challenge tests on a formulated aqueous cream containing LGO indicated that 0.25% LGO would effectively preserve the cream against fungal contamination.