Inhibitory effect of Carum carvi essential oil on the growth of Candida albicans

Candida albicans is the opportunistic yeast which causes serious health problems in human and animals. Resistance of C. albicans against many commercial drugs has make it necessary to explore natural resources for finding new powerful antifungal agents. In the present study, effect of different concentrations of Carum carvi essential oil (0.015-4%, v/v) on growth of C. albicans were investigated by microbroth dilution assay in 96 well microplate. The inhibitory effect of C. carvi essential oil was monitored by colony growth rate and spectrophotomically at the 520 nm wave length. Results showed that the plant essential oil strongly inhibited growth of C. albicans dose-dependently. C. carvi oil at the concentration of 0.5 and 1% caused the reduction in CFU as 50% (MIC50) and 90% (MIC90) of control, respectively. Essential oil of C. carvi at concentration of 2% completely inhibited formation of fungal colonies and could be considered as a potential candidate for treatment of C. albicans related diseases.