Candida is an opportunistic commensal of the human oral, gastrointestinal, vaginal, cutaneous and mucosal surfaces. Risk factors that increase incidence of Candida infections are associated with compromised immunity. The currently available drugs have low efficacy, high toxicity and frequently lead to drug resistance. There is thus a critical need to develop more effective therapies to deal with such infections and natural products offer a safer alternative. Another useful strategy would be to improve the efficacy of the existing antifungal drugs using combinational therapy. Plant essential oils possess a broad spectrum of antimicrobial properties due to the presence of bioactive natural molecules. Eugenol, methyl eugenol, thymol and carvacrol are four such natural products. The present study is an attempt to examine the antifungal and antioxidant activity of these structurally related compounds. Combinational studies were also performed to investigate the use of chemo-sensitization by eugenol and derivatives to augment the efficacy of conventional antifungal drugs. Present study encourages the use of eugenol and its derivatives for the treatment and prevention of candidiasis.

Aijaz Ahmad has submitted his Ph.D. thesis to Jamia Millia Islamia, in June 2011. Currently he is working on CDC funded project. He had already published a number of research articles in journals of international repute and is also a recipient of several awards. He is currently acting as a reviewer for Medicinal Chemistry Research.