Development and Evaluation of Microencapsulated Oregano Essential Oil as an Alternative Treatment for Infections.

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is characterized as a very common fungal infection that significantly affects women's health worldwide. Essential oils (EOs) are currently being evaluated as an alternative therapy. The development of efficient techniques such as micro- or nanoencapsulation for protecting and controlling release is essential to overcome the limitations of EO applications. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and characterize oregano EO-loaded keratin microparticles (OEO-KMPs) as a potential treatment for VVC. OEO-KMPs were produced using high-intensity ultrasonic cycles and characterized in terms of morphological and physicochemical parameters. evaluation included assessing the toxicity of the OEO-KMPs and their effect against using microdilution and agar diffusion, while the activity against biofilm was quantified using colony forming units (CFU). The efficacy of the OEO-KMPs in an VVC mouse model was also studied. Female BALB/c mice were intravaginally infected with , 24 h postinfection animals were treated intravaginally with 15 μL of OEO-KMPs and 24 h later vaginal fluid was analyzed for and growth (CFU mL). The results showed the stability of the OEO-KMPs over time, with high encapsulation efficiency and controlled release. This nanoparticle size facilitated penetration and completely inhibited the planktonic growth of . In addition, an application of 2.5% of the OEO-KMPs eradicated mature biofilms while preserving species. In , a single intravaginal application of OEO-KMPs induced a reduction in growth, while maintaining species. In conclusion, this therapeutic approach with OEO-KMPs is promising as a potential alternative or complementary therapy for VVC while preserving vaginal microflora.