Antifungal activity of the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris L. and thymol on experimentally induced dermatomycoses.

The in vivo evaluation of the toxicological and antifungal activity of the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris L. and its main component thymol was made on 2-month-old male Wistar rats. We examined the therapeutic potency against experimentally induced dermatomycoses in rats, using the most frequent dermatomycetes, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, and T. tonsurans. The therapeutic efficacy of a 1% solution of the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris and thymol as well as the commercial preparation bifonazole was evaluated. During the 37-day observation period the oil-treated animals were cured.