TY - JOUR A1 - Makkar, Nisha A1 - Prasanna, Sapna A1 - Singla, Hitashi T1 - Comparative Evaluation of Antifungal Activity of Piper Betel Leaf Oil, Origanum vulgare Essential Oil and Fluconazole Suspension on Candida albicans − An In Vitro Study Y1 - 2017/1/1 JF - Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry JO - J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent SP - 89 EP - 93 VL - 15 IS - 1 UR - https://journals.lww.com/aphd/pages/default.aspx/article.asp?issn=2319-5932;year=2017;volume=15;issue=1;spage=89;epage=93;aulast=Makkar DO - 10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_134_16 N2 - Introduction: Oropharyngeal candidiasis is an opportunistic mucosal infection caused by Candida albicans. It usually responds to topical treatments such as clotrimazole troches, topical fluconazole, chlorhexidine mouthwash and nystatin suspension. Piper betel leaf oil and Origanum vulgare essential oil have shown some topical antifungal activity. Aim: To determine and compare the antifungal efficacy of piper betel leaf oil, O. vulgare essential oil and fluconazole suspension against C. albicans. Materials and Methods: The zone of inhibition was measured by the cup–plate diffusion method using 100 μl volume of piper betel leaf oil, O. vulgare essential oil and fluconazole suspension, which were pipetted into the wells of the inoculated Sabouraud’s dextrose agar plates. The zone of inhibition was measured in millimetres using Vernier calliper. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by the broth macro-dilution test by pouring 1 ml of the respective concentrations of the test material to the individual test tubes along with 10 μl of the diluted test organism inoculum. Finally, MIC was calculated using a reflective viewer. Results: The zone of inhibition for O. vulgare essential oil (>40 mm) was more than fluconazole suspension (>35 mm). MIC of O. vulgare essential oil, piper betel leaf oil and fluconazole suspension was 1.6%, 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively. Conclusion: O. vulgare essential oil was found to be a more effective antifungal agent than piper betel leaf oil and fluconazole suspension. ER -