In vitro anticandidal activity of Cinnamomum verum

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the use of natural substances. The medicinal properties of Cinnamomum verum, Ferula asafoetida, Azadirachtin, Curcuma longa and Myristica fragrans were known to mankind since antiquity. Therefore we have aimed at demonstrating the in vitro activity of these herbs at various concentrations against Candida species isolated from different clinical samples. A total of 57 isolates of Candida recovered from clinical sources, viz. sputum, blood, urine, pus, plastic devices (endotracheal tube), were studied in detail. Eight different species of Candida were identified. Candida krusei was the commonest species isolated and the Candida (non-albicans) species with 60.36% showed the major prevalence. The isolates included C. krusei (38.59%), C. albicans (33.33%), C. parapsilosis (8.7%), C. guilliermondii (1.75%), C. glabrata (7.09%), C. tropicalis (5.26%) and C. pseudotropicalis (5.2%). The data indicates that, Cinnamon was found to possess the strongest anticandidal property at concentrations 25 and 50 mg mL ^-1 using well diffusion method. This study provides practitioners with insight into the claims of anticandidal effect of these natural substances.