ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbial Symbioses
This article is part of the Research TopicDynamics of the Human Skin MicrobiotaView all 8 articles
A synergistic herbal formulation targeting Malassezia furfur and Staphylococcus epidermidis for effective Dandruff management
Provisionally accepted
Satyendra Pratap Singh1,2
Bhanu Kumar1
Ankita Misra1Poonam Rawat1Deepali Tripathi1,3
Sharad Srivastava1*- 1CSIR - National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India
- 2Agricultural Research Organization Volcani Institute, Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel
- 3CSIR - Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, India
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Dandruff is a chronic scalp condition and the mildest form of seborrheic dermatitis, associated with microbial dysbiosis primarily involving Malassezia furfur and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Conventional antidandruff treatments are often limited by recurrence and reliance on synthetic antifungal agents. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a synergistic, oil-based herbal formulation with antimicrobial activity against dandruff-causing microorganisms. The herbal constituent, Eucalyptus citriodora (EC) oil, individually signifies its efficacy against key dandruff causing microbes, while Centella asiatica and Wedelia trilobata were included for their complementary bioactive and skin ailments properties. Three formulations (F1, F2, and F3), containing 8%, 10%, and 12% EC oil, respectively, were tested for antimicrobial efficacy. The optimized formulations (F2 and F3) exhibited significant antimicrobial activity, resulting in 1.8–1.9-fold and 2.0–2.5-fold reductions in M. furfur and S. epidermidis cell viability, respectively. Fluorescence-based Live/Dead viability assays and scanning electron microscopy confirmed membrane disruption and structural damage in treated cells of M. furfur. Additionally, molecular docking and dynamics simulations demonstrated strong binding affinities of Eucalyptus citriodora oil constituents to lanosterol 14α-demethylase, implicating disruption of the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway as a plausible antifungal mechanism. Obtained findings indicated that the formulated herbal combination exerts a multi-targeted antimicrobial action and represents a promising natural alternative for controlling microbial populations involved in dandruff pathogenesis.
Keywords: M. furfur, S. epidermidis, Dandruff, Eucalyptus citriodora, Phytomolecules
Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Singh, Kumar, Misra, Rawat, Tripathi and Srivastava. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sharad Srivastava, sharad_ks2003@yahoo.com
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