Abstract
Background The main objective of chemomechanical endodontic therapy is to reduce or eliminate microorganisms from the root canal system, and intracanal medications are used to accelerate the disinfection process. The aim of this study this study was to assess the antifungal activity of thymus vulgaris essential oil against C. albicans compared to that of triple antibiotic paste. Materials and methods C. albicans was isolated from patients who required endodontic treatment. Using the agar well diffusion method, the efficacy of Thymus vulgaris essential oil against C. albicans was determined at 25 mg/ml, 10 mg/ml, 8 mg/ml, 6 mg/ml, 4 mg/ml, and 2 mg/ml and compared to the triple antibiotic paste. The minimum inhibitory and fungicidal concentrations against Candida albicans were determined using the microbroth dilution method. The constituents were identified using a gas chromatography–mass spectrometer. Results Thymus vulgaris essential oil demonstrated antifungal activity against C. albicans, which appeared to increase as the extract concentration increased, and the difference between all concentrations and triple antibiotic paste was significant (p ≤ 0.01). The MIC and MFC for Thymus vulgaris essential oil were 0.015 mg/ml and 0.031 mg/ml, respectively. 53 compounds were identified by (GC-MS) analysis, which represented more than 95% of the oil composition. The main component was thymol (35.48%). Conclusion Thymus vulgaris essential oil is effective against C. albicans, suggesting that it has the potential to be applied as an intracanal medication.