The prevalence of oral candidiasis is higher in psoriatic patients and is associated with disease severity. It is not exactly clear whether oral candidiasis can aggravate psoriasis or if psoriasis can predispose patients to oral candidiasis.

Background and aim: Candidiasis is a common fungal disease in the mouth. An appropriate treatment for candidiasis is the use of antifungal drugs. Due to drug resistance and known side effects of drugs, the tendency to use medicinal herbs is increasing. Garlic is identified as a strong antibacterial. Therefore, in this study, the effect of aqueous garlic extract and nystatin on Candida albicans was investigated.Materials and Methods: An experimental study was carried out. For each control and case group, one standard strain and 10 clinical strains were studied. The standard strain of Candida albicans was obtained from the Iranian Research Institute of Industrial Research and clinical strains from different patients. Garlic was prepared from the north of the country and was extracted by soaking method. Control groups containing nystatin suspension of 10,000 units / ml were prepared from Sigma, and finally, the diameter of the inhibition zone and MIC by Micro Broth Dialution method were studied. The results were analyzed by T test.Result: MIC of nystatin and the MIC and MBC of garlic show that Nystatin MIC was 3.49 ± 4.96 μg / ml and micronutrient was 1.42 ± 2.22 mg / ml and nystatin variation coefficient was 28% and garlic 15% as well as MBC of garlic equal to 58 /. ± 59.1 mg / ml with a coefficient of variation of 36%. In the meantime, mic is for standard samples of 78. 0 mg / ml and nystatin 0.5 μg / ml. The amount of nongrowth halo in nystatin was 29.1 ± 1.72 and in the garlic group was 20.1 ± 1.5, which was 9.1% or 31% higher in the nystatin group and the T test showed that this difference was statistically significant. (p <0/000) and the inferiority halo for standard sample 22 and nystatin 32. Conclusion:The study showed that the aqueous extract of garlic was able to inhibit the growth of Candida albicans but its effect was less than nystatin. .

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Background and Aim: Smoking is a hazardous habit with numerous adverse effects on oral health. It plays an important role in development of cancerous and precancerous lesions and periodontal disease. Saliva has an antioxidant system and several enzymes. This study aimed to assess the salivary levels of uric acid (UA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and amylase in smokers versus non-smokers. Materials and Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 individuals (30 smokers and 30 non-smokers) at the Dental School of Islamic Azad University. The participants were requested to refrain from smoking, eating and drinking prior to saliva sampling. A minimum of 1 cc of unstimulated saliva was collected from each participant by the spitting method. The level of salivary LDH was measured by the DGKC method, the level of UA was measured by the uricase assay, and the level of amylase was quantified by the kinetic photometric method. Data were analyzed by t-test, Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Mann-Whitney test (P<0.05).Results: The salivary level of UA was 1.35±1.2 mg/dL and 1.08±1.05 mg/dL in smokers and nonsmokers, respectively with no significant difference (P=0.08). The salivary levels of amylase and LDH were 44509±38062 U/L and 420±244 IU/L in smokers and 47299±29659 U/L and 538±350 IU/L in non-smokers, respectively, with no significant difference (P>0.05). Conclusion: Despite the slightly higher level of salivary UA in smokers, the difference between smokers and non-smokers was not significant in any of the tested parameters.

Background: Emergence of nystatin-resistant Candida albicans (C. albicans) strains has raised some concerns in the recent years. Recent scientific evidence proves that turmeric, especially curcumin, has anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal activity. The aim of this study was the investigation of the antifungal effects of curcumin against nystatin-resistant C. albicans. Materials and Methods: This in vitro, experimental study evaluated standard-strain (ATCC 16201) and 10 nystatin-resistant C. albicans strains. The antifungal activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of curcumin were evaluated using the CLSI-M27-A3, and the MIC of curcumin was compared with that of nystatin. The results were analyzed using the one-way ANOVA. Results: The MIC of curcumin was 15.6, 32.25, 15.6, 7.8, 32.25, 15.6, 15.6, 15.6, 32.25, and 15.6 μg/mL for the 10 resistant strains and 62.5 μg/mL for the standard strain of C. albicans. Curcumin in the above-mentioned concentrations significantly inhibited the proliferation of nystatin-resistant C. albicans strains (P < 0.001). Conclusion: According to this research, it was shown that curcumin with MIC value of 7.8–32.25 μg/mL has inhibitory effects on nystatin-resistant C. albicans strains.