Evaluating antifungal effects of satureja khuzistanica essence in lorestan province by In vitro assays

Background: Because of the scarcity of antifungal drugs,their undesired side effects and emergence of drug resistant strains research for finding novel antifungal drugs with less side effects is necessary. In this research, the antifungal effects of satureja khuzistanica essence,which is a native plant in our province, on ten kinds of fungi were evaluated. Materials and methods: To extract the essence, we exploited water extraction by Clonger apparatus for dermatophytes and saprophytes. SDA media with different concentration of the essence were prepared and mean growth diameter of colonies were measured after 7 and 14 days. Disks with different concentrations were prepared for Cryptococcus neoformans and mean diameter of inhibition zones were measured after 7 and 14 days.The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software. Findings: The results indicated that at concentrations equal to or more than 0.02 mg/ml,the essence inhibits the growth of Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Epidermophyton floccosum and at concentrations ≥ 0.06 mg/ml,it will inhibit the growth of Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium, Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton verrucosum, Microsporum canis (100% inhibition with two concentrations). For Cryptococcus neoformans,maximum concentration of 1000 mg/ml (pure essence) caused 62% inhibition. Conclusions: The essence of S. Khuzistanica could be used for treating many fungal diseases and also as a disinfectant.