Screening of Antifungal Activity of Essential Oils and its Chemical Composition against Malassezia Furfur

This present study evaluates the potential antifungal activity of selected essential oils viz.; Tagetes minuta, Ocimum africanum, Eucalyptus citriodora and Mentha arvensis against Malassezia furfur. The studies were carried out using agar well-diffusion method at 50 µl. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were calculated using microdilution method and the volatile oil were analyzed by using GC-MS. Result confirmed the potential efficacy of essential oil of T. minuta, followed by E. Citriodora showing the maximum zone of inhibition (mm) 31.07 ± 2.01 and 24.75 ± 0.05, respectively, against M. furfur. The lowest MIC values of T. Minuta < 5 µl/ml was found to be effective against M. furfur. Essential oil of O. africanum was found less effective as it was unable to inhibit the growth of tested fungus. Results depict that the essential oil T. minuta may be used as an alternative to the other chemically made hair products.