Candidiasis is a term describing infections by yeasts from the genus Candida, and the type of infection encompassed by candidiasis ranges from superficial to systemic. Treatment of such infections often requires antifungals such as the azoles, but increased use of these drugs has led to selection of yeasts with increased resistance to these drugs. In this study, we used allicin, an allyl sulfur derivative of garlic, to demonstrate both its intrinsic antifungal activity and its synergy with the azoles, in the treatment of these yeasts in vitro. In this study, the MIC(50) and MIC(90) of allicin alone against six Candida spp. ranged from 0.05 to 25 microg/ml. However, when allicin was used in combination with fluconazole or ketoconazole, the MICs were decreased in some isolates. Our results demonstrated the existing synergistic effect between allicin and azoles in some of the Candida spp. such as C. albicans, C. glabrata and C. tropicalis, but synergy was not demonstrated in the majority of Candida spp. tested. Nonetheless, In vivo testing needs to be performed to support these findings.

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Dermatophytes are a group of fungi able to invade keratinized tissues of humans and animals, causing dermatomycosis. Azole antifungal drugs are commonly used in the treatment of dermatomycosis. However, this group of chemicals is known to cause side effects in patients and due to increased use of these medications, azoles are known to cause drug resistance. Having said this, the purpose of the present study was to investigate an alternative anti dermatophyte which is plant based. In this study, allicin, which is a pure bioactive compound isolated from garlic, was tested for its potential as a treatment of dermatomycosis. The study evaluated the in vitro efficacy of pure allicin used alone against ten isolates of Trichophyton rubrum and it was found that the MIC 50 and MIC 90 ranged from 0.78-25.0 lg/ml, whereas the MIC values for ketoconazole and fluconazole ranged from 0.25-8.0 and 1.0-32.0 lg/ml, respectively, at 28°C for both 7 and 10 days incubation. On the other hand, time-kill studies revealed that the antifungicidal effect of allicin became active within 12-24 h of management in vitro and that it was as good as that of ketoconazole. Finally, most of the tested drug combinations demonstrated synergistic or additive interactions for all isolates for both 7 and 10 days incubation at 28°C. In conclusion, when used alone, allicin showed very good potential as an antifungal compound against mycoses-causing dermatophytes, performing better than the synthetic drug fluconazole and almost as good as ketoconazole. Furthermore, allicin in combination with ketoconazole or with fluconazole frequently showed synergistic or additive interactions against dermatomycosis.

Background and Purpose:Formation of pseudohyphae is considered a virulence factor in Candida species. Generally, Candida glabrata grows as budding yeast cells; however, reports illustrated that C. glabrata could form pseudohyphal cells in response to some stimuli. In this study, we provided insight into the ability of C. glabrata in forming pseudohyphal cells under different levels of carbon dioxide (CO2).Materials and Methods: Candida glabrata reference strain (ATCC 90030) was used in this study. Yeast samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose broth (SDB) medium and incubated under 3%, 5%, and 10% CO2 levels for 24, 48 and 72 h. Control cultures were prepared without CO2 pressure for three days. The possibility of pseudohyphae and mycelium formation in C. glabrata was investigated.Results:The results of this study revealed that the most branching filament-like cells were obtained at high CO2 pressure (10%) after 72 h. After three days of low CO2 pressure (3%), only yeast and budding cells were observed without any pseudohyphae formation.Conclusion: CO2 could act as a stimulus and induced formation of pseudohyphae in Candida glabrata yeast cells.

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