Tea Tree Oil and High Frequency in the Control of Malassezia Fungus
Tea tree oil gained prominence in early February when Dr. Erica Bighetti and the technical director of Grandha, Celso Martins Junior, together with professor Luciana U. dos Santos and undergraduate student Bárbara L. Pincinato, had an article published in the book “Health Sciences: Promising Field in Research 9”, published by Editora Atena.
The subject of the article, which corresponds to chapter 14 of the book, is “The use of High Frequency and Tea Tree Oil in the Control of the Fundus Malassezia furfur“. Check out some key excerpts from the article now.
Introduction: Tea Tree Oil, High Frequency and Malassezia furfur
Malassezia pachydermatis is a very common microorganism in canine otitis (BAPTISTA et al., 2010). In humans, species of the fungus malassezia are part of the skin microbiota and, therefore, the population balance of the fungus is essential for the health of this organ. Thus, as in other animals, when in high population density it can trigger dermatitis in humans, being Health Sciences: Promising Field in Research 9 Chapter 14 133 frequent in HIV-positive individuals (MORENO-COUTINO et al., 2019).
One example is seborrheic dermatitis, which, although its cause has not yet been defined, research suggests that its onset is associated with three important factors: increased secretion of sebaceous glands, the individual's immune response and skin dysbiosis (such as increased fungus). Malassezia spp.) (NETO et al., 2013; GOMES, 2015; SBD, 2018). Climate changes, especially cold and dry weather, are another factor that triggers the worsening of symptoms (LIMA and COMARELLA, 2012).
Another factor that leads to fungus as a possible cause of dermatitis is the fact that the inflammatory process is reduced when a fungicidal product is administered to treat many dermatitis (NETO et al., 2013; ESPINDOLA, et al., 2017, TIAGO et al., 2018).
There are several therapies for controlling this dermatitis, and among them, the use of a high-frequency device has bactericidal, fungicidal and antiseptic effects (BRAZ et al., 2014), and is widely used in the area of aesthetics in dermatological lesions infected by bacteria and fungi. The high-frequency generator showed a bactericidal effect in culture vitro de Staphylococcus aureus when applied 5 times a week, for 15 minutes a day (MARTINS et al., 2012).
The high-frequency device promotes effective biocidal action, since it generates ozone, a gas that, as a primary action, penetrates the cell wall of the microorganism, as it oxidizes glycopeptides, glycoproteins and amino acids, causing lysis and thus moving to the interior of the cell. Once in the intracellular environment, ozone binds to cytoplasmic elements, promoting the oxidation of amino acids and nucleic acids, leading to cleavage and cell death (SILVA et al., 2011). When compared to other oxidizing agents, ozone stands out for its high oxidation potential and, due to this action, it is used to inactivate microorganisms in various types of samples such as food, effluents and water (GUADAGNINI et al., 2013; COELHO et al., 2015; SILVA and DANIEL, 2015; NAKADA et al., 2017).
Another therapeutic method used to control pathogens is the use of essential oil., which have different biological activities, including bactericidal and fungicidal action (CIRINO, 2014) and Malassezia spp. It is sensitive to different essential oils such as Cymbopogon citratus (lemon grass) (CARMO et al., 2012) and Origanum vulgare (oregano) (SANTIN et al., 2014).
Tea tree oil comes from the plant Melaleuca alternifolia and has antiseptic, bactericidal and fungicidal functions, being widely used in cosmetic products and health care due to its biocidal action (OLIVEIRA et al., 2011; MARTINS et al., 2015; SILVA, 2018). In view of the results presented by researchers, the use of ozone therapy and essential oils in aromatherapy were incorporated as new practices in the National Policy for Integrative and Complementary Practices (PNPIC) (BRASIL, 2018).
Depending on the species M. furfur if frequently associated with dermatitis in humans and the good results of fungicidal action from the use of high frequency and essential oils, it is extremely important to evaluate the action of these treatments on this species of fungus.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the action of high frequency and coconut oil. Melaleuca alternifolia in the control of fundus cell cultures Malassezia furfur.
Results and Discussions: Tea Tree Oil, High Frequency and Malassezia
Just like M. furfur It is a dimorphic fungus, after transferring part of the colony to the culture medium plates, yeasts were observed after 4 days of incubation and, after 7 days, the filamentous form was observed (Fig. 1).
To perform the treatments, new plates were seeded, incubated and observed for growth. When the fungus appeared in the form of filaments, the treatments were performed.
Yeast and yeast filaments were observed on the GC plates. M. furfur, after incubation for 24 and 48 hours, respectively, confirming once again the viability of the medium and the fungal culture (Fig. 2).
The plates with M. furfur of GAF, showed growth of the fungus until the filamentous form which occurred after 48 hours of incubation, however, when compared with GC, its hyphae – filaments – were shown to be much smaller (Fig. 3).
Now the colony of M. furfur that were transferred to plates containing (GTO) oil, presented only the yeast form, 48 hours after incubation and, once again, when compared to GC, the formation of colonies was visibly smaller in number and with visibly smaller cells.
High-frequency equipment is widely used due to its low cost, easy handling and versatility, being used in many procedures in the aesthetic area, such as control of skin lesions, hair treatment and, in post-extraction procedures, due to its healing, anti-inflammatory, bactericidal and fungicidal effects. However, there are few studies evaluating the action of high-frequency equipment on the different taxonomic groups of microorganisms (OLIVEIRA, 2011, MARTINS et al., 2012, GAO et al., 2014).
Cultures of Staphylococcus aureus had their development reduced when high-frequency equipment was applied 5 times a week for 15 minutes daily (MARTINS et al., 2012). The action of this equipment also prevented the growth of the fungus Candida tropicalis in laboratory cultures (HIGA et al., 2012)
Braz et al. (2014) evaluated the application for 3 minutes of high frequency with over Malassezia spp. and obtained a reduction in fungal growth in 85% of the plaques, confirming the reducing effect on the growth of this microorganism.
The results obtained in this study initially corroborate the works available in the literature, since the application of high frequency also reduced the growth of M. furfur after application.
In general, plants have substances with toxic action as a form of protection against their pathogenic agents (parasitic or not), so the variety of plants from which essential oils can be extracted is vast, such as: Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary), Eucalytus globulus (eucalyptus), mentha spicata (mint), Origanum vulgaris (oregano), Syzygium aromaticum (clove) and M. alternifolia among others (CIRINO, 2014). Because of this, these substances are widely used in the health area. The essential oil of O. vulgaris (oregano) had an effect on M. pachydermatis species involved in dermatitis in domestic animals (SANTIN et al., 2014). The essential oil of S. aromaticum (clove) has a wide range of action, including, in addition to bactericidal and fungicidal action, parasitic and insecticidal action (AFFONSO et al., 2012).
The action of tea tree oil on skin lesions, such as acne, is well established, as the oil has a bactericidal action on Propionibacterium acnes (bacteria involved in this lesion), in addition to anti-inflammatory action (BACCOLI et al., 2015) and therefore evaluated for use in facial aesthetic treatments (RONCHI et al., 2018).
A shampoo with a 5% concentration of olive oil M. alternifolia proved to be efficient in controlling dermatitis caused by the fungus M. furfur (SATCHELL et al., 2002). In the present study, the application of tea tree oil in Petri dishes prevented the development of the filamentous phase of M. furfur and interfered with the cell size of the observed yeasts, corroborating the results of the fungicidal action of the oil.
The results in this study indicate greater action of oil M. alternifolia in the growth of M. furfur when compared with the application of 2 cycles of the high frequency equipment. The oil prevented the growth of the fungus in the filamentous phase, and the cells developed were smaller when compared with the cells obtained by the fungi from the control plates.
The application of high frequency equipment cycles (55 Hz) allowed the growth of M. furfur up to the filamentous phase, however, cells from the yeast phase and the filaments were also smaller when compared to the cells obtained by the fungi from the control plates.
Final Words
Although there is a need for further research to confirm the results obtained in this study, these showed that the proposed treatments (high frequency equipment and tea tree oil) affected the growth of M. furfur, being that the oil of M. alternafolia proved to be more efficient in controlling growth.
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