Antifungal action of α-pinene against Candida spp. isolated from patients with otomycosis and effects of its association with boric acid

Abstract

The genus Candida is one of the main causes of otomycosis. The growing index of fungal strains resistant to antifungals makes necessary the search for new agents and α-pinene is a phytoconstituent present in plants with remarkable antimicrobial activity, which becomes an interesting object of study. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the antifungal activity of α-pinene against Candida species isolated from otomycosis, determining the Minimum Inhibitory and Fungicide Concentrations, micromorphological analysis and verifying the effects of the association with boric acid. α-pinene showed significant antifungal activity, with greater inhibitory activity against C. parapsilosis, fungicidal action and proved to be effective in inhibiting fungal structures, such as pseudo-hyphae and promoting a marked decrease in blastoconidia. The combination of α-pinene with boric acid produced additive effects that may be interesting for use in clinical practice.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• α-pinene
• antifungal activity
• Candida spp
• boric acid

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.