Antifungal effect of the bark and root extracts of Punica granatum on oral Candida isolates

Background and Purpose: Oral candidiasis is one of the most common fungal infections in humans. The treatment and prophylaxis of the patients suffering from this infection require the identification of new anti-Candida agents with no side effects or toxicity like medicinal plants. The present study was conducted to compare the antifungal activities of the aqueous, ethanolic, and methanolic extracts of the bark and roots of P. granatum with those of two routine antifungal agents (i.e., fluconazole and nystatin) on oral Candida strains isolated from liver transplant recipients. Materials and Methods: Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the ethanolic, methanolic, and aqueous extracts of the bark and root of Punica granatum against C. albicans and C. glabrata isolated from oral cavities were evaluated according to the CLSI M۲۷-A۳. All data were analyzed in SPSS (version ۱۶.۰) by pairwise comparison and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The MIC۵۰ and MIC۹۰ values for the methanolic and ethanolic extracts of the bark and root of P. granatum against C. albicans were both obtained as ۰.۰۵ mg/ml with the geometric mean (GM) of ۰.۰۷. Furthermore, the MIC۹۰ values for the aqueous extracts of bark and root were estimated as ۰.۰۵ and ۰.۲ mg/ml, respectively. With regard to C. glabrata, the MIC۵۰ and MIC۹۰ values for the methanolic and ethanolic extracts of the bark and root were ۰.۰۵ mg/ml. However, the MIC۹۰ value for the aqueous extract against this species was obtained as ۲۵ mg/ml. The GM values for the aqueous extracts of the bark and root were ۹.۴۹ and ۰.۳۲, respectively. Conclusion: As the findings indicated, the methanolic and ethanolic extracts of the bark and root of Punica granatum had anti-Candida activities. Therefore, they can be considered as mouthwash or toothpaste to prevent and treat Candida infections in the oral cavity.

Keywords:

Candida , Fluconazole , liver transplantation , Nystatin , Punica granatum