You have no items in your shopping cart.
ABSTRACT
Fungal infections of the skin and nails, namely athlete's foot (tinea pedis) and nail infection otherwise known as onychomycosis, represent a significant health concern worldwide. These infections can be stubborn to treat and often require prolonged use of antifungal medications, which may have side effects. This project aims to evaluate the antifungal properties of Ocimum gratissimum volatile oil, a natural remedy derived from the African basil plant, against these common fungal infections. Through a series of experiments and analyses, this research work investigated the effectiveness of Ocimum gratissimum volatile oil in inhibiting the growth and development of dermatophytes responsible for athlete's foot and nail fungal infection. The volatile oil was obtained by steam distillation from the freshly collected leaves of O. gratissimum plant and the oil was formulated in a cream form with other materials like cetostearyl alcohol and liquid paraffin. The test organisms used were swabbed and collected from the skin of the individuals presenting with the ailment. The fungal test organisms collected, were now subjected to culturing on agar plates and various tests including susceptibility test, minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum fungicidal concentration tests were all appropriately carried out. The effects of the volatile oil cream having different concentrations 12.50, 25.00, 50.00, and 100 mg/ml which contains 0.005, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.04 ml of volatile oil respectively on test organisms were evaluated. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the cream extract was elucidated to be 50mg/ml which contains 0.02ml of the volatile oil and minimum fungicidal concentration was determined to be greater than 100mg/ml containing 0.04ml of the oil after culturing for 5 days. The organisms were found to be sensitive to the O. gratisimum volatile oil though at some concentrations, hence the assessment of in vitro antifungal activity of O gratissimum volatile oil against clinically relevant strains of dermatophytes causing athlete’s foot and nail infections showed a positive response. Also, the exploration of the formulation possibilities of incorporating the volatile oil into topical preparations for therapeutic applications should not be ruled out.
