Antifungal activity, toxicity and chemical composition of the essential oil of coriandrum sativum L. Fruits

Abstract

The aims of this study were to test the antifungal activity, toxicity and chemical composition of essential oil from C. sativum L. fruits. The essential oil, obtained by hydro-distillation, was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. Linalool was the main constituent (58.22%). The oil was considered bioactive, showing an LC50 value of 23 ?g/mL in the Artemia salina lethality test. The antifungal activity was evaluated against Microsporum canis and Candida spp. by the agar-well diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) were established by the broth microdilution method. The essential oil induced growth inhibition zones of 28 μ 5.42 and 9.25 μ 0.5 for M. canis and Candida spp. respectively. The MICs and MFCs for M. canis strains ranged from 78 to 620 and 150 to 1,250 ?g/mL, and the MICs and MFCs for Candida spp strains ranged from 310 to 620 and 620 to 1,250 ?g/mL, respectively. C. sativum essential oil is active in vitro against M. canis and Candida spp. demonstrating good antifungal activity. © 2012 by the authors.