Atividade antifúngica do óleo de Carapa guianensis (MELIACEAE) frente a cepas padrões de Candida spp

Abstract

Carapa guianensis Aublet is popularly known as “andiroba”, belongs to the family Meliaceae and it has traditional use of its oil throughout the Amazon region as antiinflammatory, healing, antiseptic, emollient, antirheumatic, anti-arthritic, insect repellent and combating diseases of the skin. Candida species are fungi that are part of the human microbiota and eventually become pathogenic when there are changes in the mechanisms of host defense. The aim of this study was to observe the antifungal activity of the oil of C. guianensis on strains of Candida spp., comparing methods of activity verification. There was no antifungal activity of any of the five studied samples of oil on the strains of Candida spp. There was no difference in results when comparing the methods of antifungal analysis, or when comparing the methods of obtaining the oil. These findings do not negate the possibility of action of andiroba oil on other species of Candida, other yeasts or filamentous fungi, being also important to conduct further studies to observe the antifungal activity of other parts of the plant