Chemical Analysis of Red Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe var rubrum) Essential Oil and Its Anti-biofilm Activity against Candida albicans

Biofilm formation is one of the virulence factors of Candida albicans, contributing to the development of resistance to various antifungal drugs. In order to combat resistant microbes such as C. albicans, the discovery and development of antifungal substances must explore the anti-biofilm activity of substances, which are extracted from traditional medicinal plants widely available in tropical countries such as Indonesia. One of the natural ingredients that can be developed is red ginger. This plant has been used empirically in the treatment of various infectious diseases, including fungal infections. The aim of this study is to determine the composition of chemical compounds in the essential oil of the red ginger rhizomes planted in Aceh, Indonesia and the anti-biofilm activity of the essential oil against C. albicans, isolated from a clinical sample. The chemical analysis of the essential oil was performed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS). Anti-biofilm activity was observed through biofilm inhibition and degradation activities, determined by Cristal Violet assay. Data were analyzed using ANOVA test and Duncan's post hoc test with 99% CI. The GC-MS results showed that the essential oil used in this study contained high monoterpenes (60.55%) which is dominated by E-citral/geranial (11.97%) and 1.8 - cineole (15.10%). The highest sesquiterpenes derivative was αr-curcumene (16.86%). The significant inhibition of C. albicans biofilm formation was obtained at a concentration of 0.5% and the biofilm degradation was obtained at a concentration of 0.125%. The data indicates that the high monoterpenoids-red ginger essential oil used in this study has performed significant anti-biofilm activity against C. albicans.