Antifungal potency of Citrus limon essential oil in immunosuppressed Rattus norvegicus with oral candidiasis

Oral candidiasis, primarily caused by Candida albicans (C. albicans), is prevalent in immunosuppressed individuals. Prolonged antifungal drug use may contribute to resistance, necessitating alternative therapeutic approaches utilizing natural compounds. Citrus limon (C. limon) essential oil exhibits antifungal activity against C. albicans; thus, this study aimed to assess its efficacy in an immunosuppressed Rattus norvegicus model with oral candidiasis. Immunosuppression was induced using dexamethasone (7.2 mg/kg), followed by oral inoculation with C. albicans. Rats were then assigned to treatment groups receiving C. limon essential oil gel, miconazole gel, or no treatment. After 4 days, untreated rat exhibited significantly more severe tongue lesions than the treated groups. Colony counts confirmed these observations, with hyphal reduction most pronounced in the miconazole group (90%), followed by C. limon (60%) and untreated (40%). Histopathological analysis indicated enhanced macrophage infiltration (5.1 ± 0.738; p < 0.05) and reduced TNF-α expression (1.6 ± 0.516; p < 0.05) in the C. limon -treated group compared to controls. These findings suggest that C. limon essential oil gel may serve as a promising alternative therapy for oral candidiasis in immunosuppressed conditions.