Study of the Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils from a Number of Medicinal Plants on Germs Involved in Skin Disorders

The development of skin infections and the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance among micro-organisms are now a particularly worrying public health problem. The use of medicinal plants is an interesting avenue to explore in order to discover and develop innovative new drugs to combat these microbial infections. It was against this backdrop that this study was carried out to investigate the antimicrobial power of essential oils of Ocimum gratissimum L., Ocimum americanum L. and Lippia multiflora Moldenke on the in vitro growth of Candida albicans, Trichophyton rubrum and Staphylococcus aureus, the germs responsible for skin disorders. The essential oils were extracted by steam distillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The antimicrobial activity of these three essential oils was determined using the diffusion test and the solid double dilution method. The results obtained showed that Lippia multiflora essential oil was the most active on the three microorganisms tested with inhibition zone diameters of 34.33; 35 and 8.33 mm on Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, and Trichophyton rubrum respectively. Antimicrobial activity resulted in MIC and MBC of 0.039 and ?10 µL/mL respectively on S. aureus. The MIC and MFC values obtained for C. albicans and T. rubrum were identical (0.078 and 0.312 µL/mL respectively). With the exception of Ocimum americanum, all the essential oils showed good activity against the three strains studied.