Antifungal effects of Tagetes minuta oil - for mycosis

[Guest guest]

I've already posted about a very effective natural antifungal: The

Tagetes minuta essential oil, but it kinda went unnoticed. It may be

of use to those with persistent skin fungus, and I'm inclined to

believe it could be of help even for lung mycoses because it

epavorates slowly and steadily even at normal temperature and thus can

be inhaled.

It is considered a powerful oil in aromatherapy. The scent is not very

strong, something between apple and lemon. But it is potent: only a

few drops can last for a long time and kill a lot of microbes. It is

also phototoxic (absorbs sunlight instead of repelling it), so the

skin should not be exposed to direct sunlight for 24 hours after

treatment. Otherwise I didn't find it any more " dangerous " or

" unpleasant " than other essential oils. Unlike Oregano oil it doesn't

irritate skin or mucous membranes.

The recommendation for this essential oil comes with the usual

disclaimer that I'm not a doctor and a caveat that MCS sufferers must

take special precautions. The Tagetes minuta essential oil is

available at most online shops that sell pure essential oils.

Here is a Pubmed article about this essential oil:

http://tinyurl.com/2hogtk

------------------------------------

Plant essential oils with promising antifungal activity.

* Bii CC,

* Siboe GM,

* Mibey RK.

Centre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research

Institute, PO Box 19464, Nairobi.

OBJECTIVE: To establish therapeutic efficacy of Tagetes minuta

extracts. DESIGN: Laboratory-based experiment. METHOD: In vitro

fungitoxicity test of essential oils was studied on Trichophyton

mentagrophytes, Microsportum gypsum, Candida albicans ATCC 10231,

Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium species.

The effect of oil on sporulation, budding and germination of fungal

conidia was studied. The lowest active concentration (lac) was

determined and compared with that of one per cent clotrimazole and one

per cent nystatin. RESULTS: T. minuta essential oils were more

effective on filamentous fungi than the standard antifungal drugs

(p<0.05) but was less active on the yeast. It was fungicidal on

filamentous forms of fungi and fungistatic on the yeast. The activity

of the flower oil was significantly higher than that of the leaves

(p=0.015). The oil significantly inhibited conidia germination but had

no effects on budding of yeast. Gas chromatograph analysis of the oil

showed a total of 30 compounds with five major peaks. CONCLUSION: The

fungitoxicity of T. minuta oil can be exploited for its antifungal

properties if toxicity and the active compound is studied further.

PMID: 12858932 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

------------------------------------

and here's another rather lengthy article about it:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-649.html

Excerpt:

------------------------------------

Hethelyi et al. (1986), determined anti-microbial activity of five

secondary compounds in Tagetes minuta; beta-ocimene, dihydrotagetone,

tagetone, (Z)-ocimenone, and (E)-ocimenone. When tested on 40 strains

of bacteria and fungi, the essential oil of T. minuta had a 100%

inhibitory effect on Gram-positive bacteria, a 95% inhibitory effect

on Gram-negative bacteria, and a 100% inhibitory effect on fungi.

-------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Thanks for going into more detail on this, I dont know if it well

work with MCS but it sounds good if I can tolerate it.

>

> I've already posted about a very effective natural antifungal: The

> Tagetes minuta essential oil, but it kinda went unnoticed. It may be

> of use to those with persistent skin fungus, and I'm inclined to

> believe it could be of help even for lung mycoses because it

> epavorates slowly and steadily even at normal temperature and thus

can

> be inhaled.

>

>

> It is considered a powerful oil in aromatherapy. The scent is not

very

> strong, something between apple and lemon. But it is potent: only a

> few drops can last for a long time and kill a lot of microbes. It is

> also phototoxic (absorbs sunlight instead of repelling it), so the

> skin should not be exposed to direct sunlight for 24 hours after

> treatment. Otherwise I didn't find it any more " dangerous " or

> " unpleasant " than other essential oils. Unlike Oregano oil it

doesn't

> irritate skin or mucous membranes.

>

>

> The recommendation for this essential oil comes with the usual

> disclaimer that I'm not a doctor and a caveat that MCS sufferers

must

> take special precautions. The Tagetes minuta essential oil is

> available at most online shops that sell pure essential oils.

>

>

> Here is a Pubmed article about this essential oil:

>

>

> http://tinyurl.com/2hogtk

>

> ------------------------------------

> Plant essential oils with promising antifungal activity.

>

> * Bii CC,

> * Siboe GM,

> * Mibey RK.

>

> Centre for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research

> Institute, PO Box 19464, Nairobi.

>

> OBJECTIVE: To establish therapeutic efficacy of Tagetes minuta

> extracts. DESIGN: Laboratory-based experiment. METHOD: In vitro

> fungitoxicity test of essential oils was studied on Trichophyton

> mentagrophytes, Microsportum gypsum, Candida albicans ATCC 10231,

> Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium species.

> The effect of oil on sporulation, budding and germination of fungal

> conidia was studied. The lowest active concentration (lac) was

> determined and compared with that of one per cent clotrimazole and

one

> per cent nystatin. RESULTS: T. minuta essential oils were more

> effective on filamentous fungi than the standard antifungal drugs

> (p<0.05) but was less active on the yeast. It was fungicidal on

> filamentous forms of fungi and fungistatic on the yeast. The

activity

> of the flower oil was significantly higher than that of the leaves

> (p=0.015). The oil significantly inhibited conidia germination but

had

> no effects on budding of yeast. Gas chromatograph analysis of the

oil

> showed a total of 30 compounds with five major peaks. CONCLUSION:

The

> fungitoxicity of T. minuta oil can be exploited for its antifungal

> properties if toxicity and the active compound is studied further.

>

> PMID: 12858932 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

> ------------------------------------

>

>

> and here's another rather lengthy article about it:

>

>

> http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-649.html

>

>

> Excerpt:

> ------------------------------------

> Hethelyi et al. (1986), determined anti-microbial activity of five

> secondary compounds in Tagetes minuta; beta-ocimene,

dihydrotagetone,

> tagetone, (Z)-ocimenone, and (E)-ocimenone. When tested on 40

strains

> of bacteria and fungi, the essential oil of T. minuta had a 100%

> inhibitory effect on Gram-positive bacteria, a 95% inhibitory effect

> on Gram-negative bacteria, and a 100% inhibitory effect on fungi.

> -------------------------------------

>