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The prevalence of Candida albicans infections is increasing in the society. Therefore, an effective and affordable antifungal drug with minimal side effect is needed. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a traditional herb which has an antifungal effect in its volatile oil. Objective: to investigate antifungal effect of volatile oil from Zingiber officinale var. rubrum against C. albicans in vitro, to determine the optimum concentration, and finally to determine the correlation between the various concentrations of the oil and the inhibition zone. Material and method: Strain C. albicans tested was obtained from the Departement of Parasitology, Medical Faculty, University of Indonesia. Volatile oil of Zingiber officinale var. rubrum was produced from water and steam distillation of fresh ginger in BALLITRO, Bogor. Concentrations of the volatile oil used were 100%, 50%, 25%, 12.5%, 3.125%, 1.56% and 0.78%. Methods used were colony counting and disk diffusion method (by using 6 mm blank disk). The specimens were divided into two groups, treatment group (C. albicans with application of volatile oil) and control group (C. albicans without application of volatile oil). Result: There was a significant decrease in the amount of C. albicans colonies from 3.125% to 6.25% of concentration. The amount of C. albicans colonies at concentration 6.25% was also significantly lower than in the control group. Moreover, there was strong and positive correlation between the concentration of the volatile oil and the inhibition zone. Conclusion: Volatile oil from Zingiber officinale var. rubrum has an antifungal effect agains C. albicans in vitro with optimum concentration at 6.25%. Increasing concentrations of the oil correlates with increasing inhibition zone. |
