Composition of Different Species of Lamiaceae Plant Family: A Potential Biosource of Terpenoids and Antifungal Agents

Lavandula angustifolia Mill. (known as lavender), Mentha piperita L. (peppermint), Origanum vulgare L. (oregano), Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary), and Thymus vulgaris L. (thyme), which belong to the Lamiaceae family, represent a rich source of terpenoids, namely monoterpenoids (C10), sesquiterpenoids (C15), and diterpenoids (C20). In this chapter, we aim to summarize in a comprehensive way the main terpenoids identified in these medicinal plants highlighting their antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, and Cryptococcus neoformans. Moreover, an overview of extraction techniques (e.g., accelerated solvent extraction, hydrodistillation, microwave-assisted hydrodistillation) and instrumental analytical approaches (e.g., gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) employed to achieve high-quality Lamiaceae essential oil and accurate identification of the volatile composition, as well as assays for estimating the antifungal activity (e.g., in vitro, in vivo, in chemico), and their potential mechanism of action, are also discussed. The selected Lamiaceae plants showed excellent activity against C. albicans and C. neoformans, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values lower than 1000 μg/mL.