Drug Resistant Fungal Infections and Aromatherapy

An increasingly alarming development recently, has been the discovery of drug-resistant fungal infections and systemic mycoses which have produced high mortality rates (Karpinski, 2020). In Candida and Aspergillus species there has been documented resistance to standard antifungal medications such as fluconazole, voriconazole and posaconazole. The increase in infections caused by these drug-resistant fungi were addressed in a study of essential oils as antifungal treatments (Karpinski, 2020). The oils of the Lamiaceae plant family were studied with their chemical constituents identified as having antifungal properties. The research posits that essential oils are powerful antifungals and can be considered as alternatives to standardly prescribed medications for fungal infections.

Two cases of drug-resistant ringworm in the US have been reported by the CDC as described by NBC News, May 11, 2023. The infections spread across skin to cover large portions of their bodies. Conventional antifungal and corticosteroid medicated creams had no effect on this. Most experts agree that overuse of medications has produced this resistance.

On January 7, 2020, Tomasz M. Karpinski published the research review previously mentioned, “Essential Oils of Lamiaceae Family Plants as Antifungals.” The Lamiaceae family of plants includes lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), basil (Ocimum basilicum), thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and sage (Salvia officinalis), among others. The researchers identified the chemical composition of the oils found to produce the strongest antifungal effects. Karpinski says, “The microbiological data indicate that they could be used alone or in combination with antifungal drugs in the treatment of fungal infections, especially of the skin and mucous membranes.”

Karpinski goes on to say that the multitude of chemical constituents in essential oils provide a strong defense to infection that pathogens are unable to penetrate. Pharmaceutical medications contain one chemical which pathogens can more easily mutate around to prevent their own eradication. Similar results have been found in drug-resistant bacterial infections such as Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The research has given new hope to using essential oils in treating fungal and bacterial infections.

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