Comparison between the vapor-phase-mediated anti-Candida activity of conventional and organic essential oils

Abstract

Essential oils (EOs) are known for their antimicrobial activities against a broad range of microorganisms. In this study we investigated if EOs obtained from plants grown by organic farming are more potent than those obtained from conventional farming, or vice versa. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare pairwise the inhibitory vapor-phase-mediated antimicrobial activity of 33 certified organic EOs and as many equivalent EOs without such certification against two human pathogenic Candida species using the vapor-phase- mediated susceptibility assay. Overall, C. glabrata is more susceptible than C. albicans to EOs, but we could not show a significant difference in EO antimicrobial activity between certified organic and without certification