Comparison of antifungal activity of fluconazole and clove leaf essential oil on Candida species isolate in HIV/AIDS patients with oral candidiasis

Current treatment guidelines include fluconazole as the main therapeutic option for treating oral candidiasis infection in HIV/AIDS patients, but resistance increases. Several in vitro studies have shown that clove leaf essential oil with the main content of eugenol can be an alternative therapy for oral candidiasis that is resistant to fluconazole. This study was conducted to determine the zone of inhibition of clove leaf essential oil and fluconazole against Candida isolates species that cause oral candidiasis in HIV/AIDS patients. This study showed that the average fluconazole disk 25 μg/mL inhibition zone in 20 isolates of Candida albicans species was larger than non-albicans Candida species. The zone of inhibition of clove leaf essential oil was significantly lower than that of fluconazole (p < 0.05), except at a concentration of 15% against non-albicans Candida isolates. Clove leaf essential oil has an antifungal effect that can inhibit the growth of Candida species, so it can be considered an alternative antifungal therapy. Clove leaf essential oil concentration of 15% showed no significant difference in antifungal activity with the standard drug fluconazole in isolates of non-albicans Candida species