Skip to content
2000
image of Anticandidal Effects of Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum sanctum: Unveiling in vitro and in vivo Efficacy against Systemic Candidiasis

Abstract

Background

This research explored the antimicrobial, antifungal, and anticandidal activities of two herbal extracts: (HEOB) and (HEOS). Additionally, the study analyzed the phytochemical components of these extracts.

Aim

To examine the efficacy of HEOB and HEOS extracts in terms of their antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-candidal activities and analyze their phytochemical composition, antioxidant potential, and immunomodulatory properties .

Methods

Dried flowers and leaves from and were extracted using a cold maceration process with a 1:1 ethanol-water solution. Phytochemical analysis followed established protocols, and the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were measured using colourimetric methods. HPLC was used to determine the concentrations of specific compounds, including rosmarinic acid, rutin, eugenol, and quercetin. Antioxidant activity, specifically nitric oxide (NO) scavenging and antimicrobial properties, was assessed using the cup plate method. studies were conducted on immunocompromised mice with systemic candidiasis, treated with plant extracts at 200 and 400 mg/kg or with ketoconazole as a control. Survival rates, tissue histology, and leukocyte counts were evaluated, and statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA.

Results

HEOB and HEOS extracts possess strong antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, largely due to flavonoids such as rutin, quercetin, rosmarinic acid and eugenol. experiments revealed that both extracts effectively reduced fungal load, increased survival rates, and alleviated immunosuppression in mice with systemic candidiasis. The extracts also exhibited significant immunomodulatory properties by boosting cell-mediated immune responses. At higher concentrations, the antifungal performance of HEOB and HEOS was similar to that of ketoconazole.

Conclusion

HEOB and HEOS exhibited strong antibacterial, antifungal, and anticandidal properties, showing significant effectiveness in treating systemic candidiasis. Their immunomodulatory effects and ability to boost cell-mediated immunity make these extracts promising options for addressing systemic candidiasis, particularly in individuals with weakened immune systems. This research offers valuable insights and sets the stage for future investigations into the treatment of oral and vaginal candidiasis.

© 2025 Bentham Science Publishers
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/cpd/10.2174/0113816128362999250605093917
2025-06-25
2025-09-10

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/cpd/10.2174/0113816128362999250605093917
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Talapko J. Juzbašić M. Matijević T. Candida albicans— the virulence factors and clinical manifestations of infection. J. Fungi (Basel) 2021 7 2 79 10.3390/jof7020079 33499276
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Clancy C.J. Hong Nguyen M. Systemic Candidiasis: Candidemia and Deep-Organ Infections. In: Candida and Candidiasis. Wiley 2011 10.1128/9781555817176.ch27
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Dropulic Lesia K. Lederman Howard M. Overview of Infections in the Immunocompromised Host. Diagnostic Microbiology of the Immunocompromised Host Diagnostic Microbiology of the Immunocompromised Host 2016 1 50 10.1128/9781555819040.ch1
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Mavor A. Thewes S. Hube B. Systemic fungal infections caused by Candida species: Epidemiology, infection process and virulence attributes. Curr. Drug Targets 2005 6 8 863 874 10.2174/138945005774912735 16375670
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Zeng Z. Tian G. Ding Y. Yang K. Liu J. Deng J. Surveillance study of the prevalence, species distribution, antifungal susceptibility, risk factors and mortality of invasive candidiasis in a tertiary teaching hospital in Southwest China. BMC Infect. Dis. 2019 19 1 939 10.1186/s12879‑019‑4588‑9 31699043
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Hirano R. Sakamoto Y. Kudo K. Ohnishi M. Retrospective analysis of mortality and Candida isolates of 75 patients with candidemia: A single hospital experience. Infect. Drug Resist. 2015 8 199 205 10.2147/IDR.S80677 26185460
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Benedict K. Jackson B.R. Chiller T. Beer K.D. Estimation of direct healthcare costs of fungal diseases in the United States. Clin. Infect. Dis. 2019 68 11 1791 1797 10.1093/cid/ciy776 30204844
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Nami S. Aghebati-Maleki A. Morovati H. Aghebati-Maleki L. Current antifungal drugs and immunotherapeutic approaches as promising strategies to treatment of fungal diseases. Biomed. Pharmacother. 2019 110 857 868 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.12.009 30557835
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Hosack T. Damry D. Biswas S. Drug-induced liver injury: A comprehensive review. Therap. Adv. Gastroenterol. 2023 16 17562848231163410 10.1177/17562848231163410 36968618
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Nasim N. Sandeep I.S. Mohanty S. Plant-derived natural products for drug discovery: current approaches and prospects. Nucleus 2022 65 3 399 411 10.1007/s13237‑022‑00405‑3 36276225
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Cohen M. Tulsi - Ocimum sanctum: A herb for all reasons. J. Ayurveda Integr. Med. 2014 5 4 251 259 10.4103/0975‑9476.146554 25624701
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Azizah N.S. Irawan B. Kusmoro J. Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)-A review of its botany, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and biotechnological development. Plants 2023 12 24 4148 10.3390/plants12244148 38140476
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Abubakar A. Haque M. Preparation of medicinal plants: Basic extraction and fractionation procedures for experimental purposes. J. Pharm. Bioallied Sci. 2020 12 1 1 10 10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_175_19 32801594
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Nortjie E. Basitere M. Moyo D. Nyamukamba P. Extraction methods, quantitative and qualitative phytochemical screening of medicinal plants for antimicrobial textiles: A review. Plants 2022 11 15 2011 10.3390/plants11152011 35956489
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Lawag I.L. Nolden E.S. Schaper A.A.M. Lim L.Y. Locher C. A modified Folin-Ciocalteu assay for the determination of total phenolics content in honey. Appl. Sci. (Basel) 2023 13 4 2135 10.3390/app13042135
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Iqbal E. Salim K.A. Lim L.B.L. Phytochemical screening, total phenolics and antioxidant activities of bark and leaf extracts of Goniothalamus velutinus (Airy Shaw) from Brunei Darussalam. J. King Saud Univ. Sci. 2015 27 3 224 232 10.1016/j.jksus.2015.02.003
    [Google Scholar]
  17. AlBalawi A.N. Elmetwalli A. Baraka D.M. Alnagar H.A. Alamri E.S. Hassan M.G. Chemical constituents, antioxidant potential, and antimicrobial efficacy of Pimpinella anisum extracts against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Microorganisms 2023 11 4 1024 10.3390/microorganisms11041024 37110449
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Muralidharan S. Meyyanathan S.N. Development and validation of a HPLC and an UV spectrophotometric methods for determination of dexibuprofen in pharmaceutical preparations. ISRN Pharm. 2011 2011 1 1 4 10.5402/2011/948314 22389866
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Marcocci L. Maguire J.J. Droylefaix M.T. Packer L. The nitric oxide-scavenging properties of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 1994 201 2 748 755 10.1006/bbrc.1994.1764 8003011
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Suppakul P. Miltz J. Sonneveld K. Bigger S.W. Antimicrobial properties of basil and its possible application in food packaging. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2003 51 11 3197 3207 10.1021/jf021038t 12744643
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Cáceres A. Girón L.M. Alvarado S.R. Torres M.F. Screening of antimicrobial activity of plants popularly used in guatemala for the treatment of dermatomucosal diseases. J. Ethnopharmacol. 1987 20 3 223 237 10.1016/0378‑8741(87)90050‑X 3682847
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Kim J. Tang J.Y. Gong R. Itraconazole, a commonly used antifungal that inhibits Hedgehog pathway activity and cancer growth. Cancer Cell 2010 17 4 388 399 10.1016/j.ccr.2010.02.027 20385363
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Louie A. Deziel M. Liu W. Drusano M.F. Gumbo T. Drusano G.L. Pharmacodynamics of caspofungin in a murine model of systemic candidiasis: importance of persistence of caspofungin in tissues to understanding drug activity. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 2005 49 12 5058 5068 10.1128/AAC.49.12.5058‑5068.2005 16304173
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Suresh B. Sriram S. Dhanaraj S.A. Elango K. Chinnaswamy K. Anticandidal activity of Santolina chamaecyparissus volatile oil. J. Ethnopharmacol. 1997 55 2 151 159 10.1016/S0378‑8741(96)01490‑0 9032628
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Gurina T.S. Simms L. Histology, Staining. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing Treasure Island, FL 2023
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Jagetia G.C. Baliga M.S. The evaluation of nitric oxide scavenging activity of certain Indian medicinal plants in vitro: A preliminary study. J. Med. Food 2004 7 3 343 348 10.1089/jmf.2004.7.343 15383230
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Hassanpour P. Shams-Ghahfarokhi M. Razzaghi-Abyaneh M. Antifungal activity of eugenol on Cryptococcus neoformans biological activity and Cxt1p gene expression. Curr. Med. Mycol. 2020 6 1 9 14 10.18502/cmm.6.1.2502 32420502
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Kazmi I. Afzal M. Gupta G. Anwar F. Antiepileptic potential of ursolic acid stearoyl glucoside by GABA receptor stimulation. CNS Neurosci. Ther. 2012 18 9 799 800 10.1111/j.1755‑5949.2012.00369.x 22943148
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Tungmunnithum D. Thongboonyou A. Pholboon A. Yangsabai A. Flavonoids and other phenolic compounds from medicinal plants for pharmaceutical and medical aspects: An overview. Medicines 2018 5 3 93 10.3390/medicines5030093 30149600
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Vyas P.J. Wagh S.S. Kalaskar M.G. Volatile oil containing plants as phytopharmaceuticals to treat psoriasis: A review. Curr. Pharm. Biotechnol. 2024 25 3 313 339 10.2174/1389201024666230607140404 37287299
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Van Enckevort F.H.J. Netea M.G. Hermus A.R.M.M. Increased susceptibility to systemic candidiasis in interleukin-6 deficient mice 1. Med. Mycol. 1999 37 6 419 426 10.1046/j.1365‑280X.1999.00247.x 10647123
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Gupta G. Kazmi I. Afzal M. Sedative, antiepileptic and antipsychotic effects of Viscum album L. (Loranthaceae) in mice and rats. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2012 141 3 810 816 10.1016/j.jep.2012.03.013 22449438
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Belapurkar P. Goyal P. Tiwari-Barua P. Immunomodulatory effects of triphala and its individual constituents: A review. Indian J. Pharm. Sci. 2014 76 6 467 475 25593379
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Afzal M. Gupta G. Kazmi I. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential of a novel steroidal derivative from Bryophyllum pinnatum. Fitoterapia 2012 83 5 853 858 10.1016/j.fitote.2012.03.013 22465504
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Deka H. Choudhury A. Dey B.K. An overview on plant derived phenolic compounds and their role in treatment and management of diabetes. J. Pharmacopuncture 2022 25 3 199 208 10.3831/KPI.2022.25.3.199 36186092
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Samtiya M. Aluko R.E. Dhewa T. Moreno-Rojas J.M. Potential health benefits of plant food-derived bioactive components: An overview. Foods 2021 10 4 839 10.3390/foods10040839 33921351
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/cpd/10.2174/0113816128362999250605093917
Loading
Anticandidal Effects of Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum sanctum: Unveiling in vitro and in vivo Efficacy against Systemic Candidiasis
Bentham Science Publishers ; https://doi.org/10.2174/0113816128362999250605093917
/content/journals/cpd/10.2174/0113816128362999250605093917
/content/journals/cpd/10.2174/0113816128362999250605093917
Loading

Data & Media loading...


  • Article Type:     Research Article
Keywords: antibacterial ; Ocimum sanctum ; rutin ; immunocompromised ; candidiasis ; quercetin ; Ocimum basilicum

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test