ZINGIBER OFFICINALE ROSCOE ESSENTIAL OIL FOR FUNGAL INFECTIONS: INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Given the great impact that fungal pathogens have on human health and the increase in fungal resistance to drugs used in their treatment, the search for alternative therapeutic measures with fewer side effects was necessary in order to combat this resistance. The use of essential oils appears as a possibility, and among them is Zingiber officinale Roscoe oil, due to its antimicrobial effect. The objective was to carry out an integrative review on the potential use of Z. officinale and the effects of the essential oil as an antimicrobial agent against fungal infections. This is an integrative literature review, in LILACS, PubMed and MEDLINE databases. Among 981 articles found, using as inclusion criteria articles from the last 20 years, in Portuguese, English that were relevant to the theme, thus the title and abstract of each finding were read and 58 articles were selected for complete reading, being the final sample of the research, 19 articles, 14 of them specifically about the use of Z. officinale as an antifungal. The pooled results of this study showed that, in relation to the control groups, the effects of topically using Z. officinale were statistically significant. Some demonstrate minimal effect at the serum level, in addition, high heterogeneity disappeared in subgroup analyzes by age, duration, dose and quality. Current analysis showed that supplementation and topical use of Z. officinale essential oil had a significant effect on serum inflammation and antifungal markers. Therefore, the antifungal potential of the essential oil of Z. officinale Roscoe was confirmed through the results of the scientific findings.