Do menthol and its derivatives present biological activity with antifungal potential?

Plants of the <i>Mentha</i> genus have been studied for their application as anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antimicrobial agents, with these effects being attributed to menthol, the majority compound. This review aims to compile research on the antifungal action of menthol and its derivatives. A search was conducted on the following databases: Web of Science, Medline/PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Scopus and Science Direct, using the descriptors ‘menthol’ and/or ‘derivatives’. Twenty-six articles on <i>in vitro</i> studies were selected. Menthol showed activity mainly against <i>Candida albicans</i>, <i>Candida krusei, Aspergillus flavus</i> and <i>Penicillium</i> spp. with MICs 0.78–1000 µg/mL and MFC 0.5–1000 µg/mL. In combination with fluconazole, it presented a synergistic effect against <i>Candida</i> genus. However, there have been few studies on the mechanisms of action. Although the method and its derivatives are promising, further studies are needed to fully explore their effects.