Antimicrobial properties of Clausena anisata (Rutaceae) essential oil from Bafou area against the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans and antioxidant activity

The aim of the present work was to determine the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Clausena anisata essential oil. The extraction of essential oils was performed by the hydro distillation method with a Clevenger apparatus. The determination of essential oils chemical composition was conducted by gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Then the antimicrobial activity was assessed using disk diffusion method and micro titration. In order to determine the antioxidant activity 2 methods were carried out: the free radical scavenging assay was performed using the DPPH+ radical (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and the method with ABTS radical reagents (acid2, 2'-azynobis-[3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6 ​​sulfonic acid]). The yield of extraction of the essential oil was 0.77%. The study of its chemical composition revealed E- anethol (70.77%), methyl iso eugenol (13.85) as major compounds. The anti-radical DPPH test revealed a SC₅₀ of 1g/L; 0.265g/L respectively for DPPH and ABTS tests. The results also highlighted a potent antimicrobial property. An antimicrobial screening study revealed a susceptibility of Candida albicans isolates at a concentration of 8000 ppm. This activity was characterized by minimum inhibitory concentrations of 2000 ppm for all the tested pathogenic yeasts Sab1, Sab2, Sab3, Sab250, Sab250₁, Sab256, Sab259 and Sab290. The essential oil minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was lower than the MIC of fluconazole. The same observations were resulted with the fungicidal effect. These data can be used as a starting point for subsequent studies to produce antifungal and antioxidant drugs to face the challenge of the antimicrobial resistance and oxidative stress.