Development of antifungal paper from Trametes versicolor containing orange oil against fungal skin infections: A model based on in vitro studies

Introduction: Mould infection on the human skin is one of important effects of mould on human health. Skin mould infection is normally caused by Aspegillus, Penicillium and Rhizopus. To date, orange oil has been applied in the present study to inhibit mould infection by adding it into fungal paper. Fungal paper made from Trametes versicolor was used to absorb and slow down the release of orange oil vapour. Therefore, the objective of this work was to investigate the effect of orange oil in fungal paper on growth of infected skin mould as a model in vitro test. Methods: Orange oil and the main component (limonene) was prepared in the Malt Extract Agar (MEA) and added into fungal paper made from T. versicolor at concentrations of 0 (control), 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 μg g−1. Each of mycelium and spores of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium chrysogenum and Rhizopus spp were placed on the MEA. A spore of mould was sprayed on the fungal paper. Results: Using 60 μg g−1 of orange oil in MEA and 80 μg g−1 of orange oil in the fungal paper exhibited complete inhibition of growth of all moulds in this test. Limonene alone could not inhibit all moulds in this test; therefore, some minor components of orange can play a significant role in mould growth inhibition. Moreover, fungal paper made from T. versicolor exhibited slow release of orange oil components with active to inhibit mould at least 30 days. Conclusions: Thus, this research demonstrated the potential of fungal paper containing orange oil to control the growth of infected moulds and that this combination could be applied in medicine to control infection of skin in the future. *Correspondence to: Narumol Matan, Food Science and Technology, School of Agricultural Technology, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand and Research Center of Excellence in Innovation of Essential oil, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand, Tel: 6675672359; Fax: 6675672971; E-mail: nnarumol@wu.ac.th; nnarumol@yahoo.com