The chemical composition, antifungal, antibiofilm, and molecular docking studies of the essential oil obtained from Lindera caesia were investigated. A total of thirty-nine components (96.7%) were identified using gas chromatography (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major components included terpinen-4-ol (26.3%), neo-intermedeol (23.2%), eudesma-4,11-dien-3-one (10.4%), and o-cymene (5.3%). The antifungal activity was tested against Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans using the broth microdilution assay, whereas the microbial biofilms were determined using a semi-quantitative static biofilm. The essential oil exhibited activity against C. albicans (MIC 125 µg/mL) and S. mutans (MIC 250 µg/mL), and increased the biofilm of C. albicans by 31.25% when treated with 500 µg/mL. The molecular docking study shows neo-intermedeol, eudesma-4,11-dien-3-one, α-selinene, and β-selinene as the good candidate to target Erg11 with a binding energy of -7.3 kcal/mol. These findings demonstrated that the essential oil may have potential in dental application for caries prevention.
The chemical composition of the essential oil of Lindera subumbelliflora (Lauraceae) was investigated for the first time. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and fully characterised by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antifungal activity of L. subumbelliflora essential oil was tested against Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans using the broth microdilution assay, whereas the microbial biofilms were determined using a semi-quantitative static biofilm. A total of 28 components (99.6%) were successfully identified, which were characterised by β-eudesmol (14.6%), cis-α-bergamotene (11.0%), α-copaene (8.5%), dodecen-1-ol (8.5%), and (E)-nerolidol (8.3%). The essential oil exhibited activity against Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans with MIC values of 250 and 500 µg/mL, respectively. The essential oil increased the biofilm of Candida albicans by 38.25%, however, decreased the biofilm of Streptococcus mutans by 47.89% when treated with 500 µg/mL. Thus, the essential oil has a promising application in dentistry via inhibition of the growth of Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans. However, the antibiofilm activity of the essential oil is only applicable for cariogenic Streptococcus mutans.