Comprehensive Review on Tinea Infection Therapies: Allopathic and Herbal Approaches for Dermatophytosis

Background: Tinea infections are superficial fungal infections caused by three species of fungi (i.e. Epidermophyton, Microsporum, and Trichophyton) collectively termed dermatophytes. Dermatophytes are fungi that cause skin, nail bed, and hair infections. These infections are classified based on infection site, including tinea pedis (foot), tinea corporis (body), tinea capitis (head), and tinea cruris (groin). Dermatophytes can spread by direct contact with other people (anthropophilic organisms), animals (zoophilic organisms), and soil (geophilic organisms), as well as indirectly from fomities. Objective: This review aims to summarize the allopathic drugs along with their mechanism of action and herbal drugs including their parts of the plant used for the treatment of tinea infections. Methods: The literature review was performed using the following databases: PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/), and Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/), to identify the various drugs involved in the treatment of dermatophytosis along with their mechanisms. Results: The following keywords were applied in the search strategy: “Tinea”, “Dermatophytosis”, “Ringworm infection”, “Pathogenesis of tinea”, “Tinea pedis”, and “Tinea capitis”. This article also reviews several formulations that are available in the market for treating ringworm infection. Conclusion: The current review provides information about the classification of dermatophytosis based on infection site and environmental habitat, pathogenesis, immunopathogenesis of dermatophytes, and herbals and allopathic drugs used for their treatment.