Essential Oils and Phyto-Compounds

Essential oils are widely known for their contribution in developing modern drug as well as herbal formulation in ethnomedicine against fungal infections. Problem of host toxicity and drug-resistance has impeded the success of antifungal therapy. Therefore, new and effective antifungal agents and approaches for treating these infections are warranted. The problem of drug-resistance, biofilm formation and associated pathogenicity in fungi has been discussed in this monograph. This work provides extensive investigation on certain essential oils/ active compounds for their antifungal and antivirulence activity against drug-resistant strains of fungi especially Candida albicans, Trichophyton rubrum and Aspergillus fumigatus. This work has highlighted the mode of action and synergistic interaction of essential oils/compounds with antifungal drugs against planktonic and biofilm mode of growth of fungi. This book is a valuable work for students, researchers and clinicians interested in strategies for development of new antifungal agents with improved efficacy, novel approaches of drug delivery and search of novel compounds which can interfere with fungal virulence and biofilm formation.