Quantification of the minimum amount of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar required for the growth inhibition of dandruff causing fungi Malassezia furfur

Abstract

The main focus of this study is to quantify the amount of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar required to inhibit the growth of lipophilic fungus, Malassezia furfur. Malassezia furfur infects the human scalp, affects hair and causes the dandruff. In this work, the antifungal effect of lemon and apple cider vinegar was investigated along with commercially available antifungal drug fluconazole. Agar diffusion method was used and the zone of inhibition was measured to quantify the amount required and also to estimate the antifungal efficacy of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. We have used different concentration of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar such as 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% concentrations. From our results, by observing the zones of inhibitions on the petridishes, we confirm that lemon juice and apple cider vinegar has good antifungal effect on Malassezia furfur and around 3ml to 4ml of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar diluted and made to 10ml of the solution with water would be sufficient enough to inhibit the growth of Malassezia furfur. This study justifies the use of either lemon juice or apple cider vinegar as a remedy for Malassezia furfur infected scalp and hair.