Antifungal Activity of Different Essential Oils

Grade Level at Time of Presentation

Secondary School

Institution

Project Lead The Way - Kentucky

KY House District #

61

KY Senate District #

17

Abstract

Fungal infections are extremely common and can linger for years. Traditional antifungal treatments require repeated doses and result in a multitude of side effects which led to the study of alternative treatments. Essential oils are rising in popularity as a substitute for a plethora of medicines, including antifungals. In this study the fungicidal activity of 5 different essential oils solutions that were created were tested against a control of distilled water on yeast cultures that had been grown. Data was collected over the course of a 15-day trial and cell death was recorded daily. Once the trial came to its conclusion four of the five oil solutions had t-statistics greater than the critical value of 1.701. Lavender oil showed the most cell death, yielding a t-statistic of 5.101. These findings indicate that certain essential oils possess qualities of a fungicide, making it a viable side effect free alternative to antifungal creams for those plagued with recurring fungal infections.

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Antifungal Activity of Different Essential Oils

Fungal infections are extremely common and can linger for years. Traditional antifungal treatments require repeated doses and result in a multitude of side effects which led to the study of alternative treatments. Essential oils are rising in popularity as a substitute for a plethora of medicines, including antifungals. In this study the fungicidal activity of 5 different essential oils solutions that were created were tested against a control of distilled water on yeast cultures that had been grown. Data was collected over the course of a 15-day trial and cell death was recorded daily. Once the trial came to its conclusion four of the five oil solutions had t-statistics greater than the critical value of 1.701. Lavender oil showed the most cell death, yielding a t-statistic of 5.101. These findings indicate that certain essential oils possess qualities of a fungicide, making it a viable side effect free alternative to antifungal creams for those plagued with recurring fungal infections.