European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ANTIFUNGAL POTENCY OF POTASH COMPOUNDS AGAINST CANDIDA SPECIES ISOLATED FROM HIGH VAGINAL SWABS OF WOMEN ATTENDING A TEACHING HOSPITAL IN NIGERIA

*Onyekachukwu Izuchukwu Udemezue and Christie Amaechi Oyeka

ABSTRACT

Antifungal research and development are unfortunately challenging, and no considerable advancements in antifungal therapies have been achieved recently. The aim of this research was to evaluate the antifungal potency of potash compounds (potash alum, trona and palm ash) against Candida species isolated from high vaginal swabs of women attending a Teaching hospital in Nigeria. Four hundred and fifty high vaginal swab samples were collected from patients suspected of having vulvo-vaginal candidiasis. These were inoculated on Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with 50μg/ml chloramphenicol and incubated aerobically at 25oC for 24hours. The yeast isolates were identified based on their morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular characteristics. Antimicrobial activity of the natural compounds on the Candida isolates was evaluated using the agar-well diffusion method. The Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and Minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the agents were determined using the broth dilution method. The yeast isolates included: Candida albicans (51%), C. tropicalis (28%), C. glabrata (15%) and C. parapsilosis (6%). Trona gave the highest inhibition zone diameter (IZD) of 31.00±1.41mm against Candida glabrata, potash alum, 30.00±1.41mm against C. parasilopsis and palm ash, 17.50±0.71mm against C. glabrata at 200mg/ml. Ketoconazole (at 200mg/ml) gave the IZD of 21.00±1.41mm against C. albicans, 21.50±0.71mm against C. tropicalis, 20.50±0.71mm against C. glabrata and 19.00±1.41mm against C. parapsilosis. The MIC and MFC of the test agents varied among the Candida isolates. For C. albicans, potash alum MIC was (50mg/ml), Trona (100mg/ml), Palm ash (100mg/ml) and Ketoconazole (50mg/ml). The study revealed that potash compounds are potent anticandidal agents and could serve as good alternatives to our conventional antifungal antibiotics.

Keywords: Antifungal, Potash Compounds, Candida species, Inhibition zone diammeter, Candidiasis.