Current Medical Mycology
Year:2017 | Volume:3 | Issue:2|Papers Count:6

Background and Purpose: Candida albicans is the most common cause of candidal infections. Various studies have shown drug resistance among C. albicans isolates; thus, it is necessary to discover replacement treatments for Candida infections. In this study, we aimed to compare the effects of different essential oils against azoles-resistant and azoles-susceptible isolates.Materials and Methods: Twenty fluconazole-resistant and 20 susceptible C. albicans isolates obtained from oral, vaginal, and cutaneous tissues of patients with candidiasis were evaluated. The efficacy and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of Zataria multiflora, Geranium herbarum, Lavendula officinalis, Cuminum, cyminum, Allium heamanthoides, and Artemisia sieberi essential oils against C. albicans were determined on the basis of a reference method for broth microdilution susceptibility testing of yeasts as suggested by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI, M27-S4). After inoculation, incubation, and subculturation, the MICs were determined through comparison with the control.Results: The obtained MICs for Zataria multiflora, Geranium herbarum, Artemisia sieberi, Allium heamanthoides, Cumminum cyminum, and Lavendula officinalis were 0.1-0.25 ml/ml (mean: 0.155 ml/ml), 0.625-1.66 ml/ml (mean: 0.93 ml/ml) 0.833-2.0 ml/ml (mean: 1.21 ml/ml), 0.1-0.25 ml/ml (mean: 0.155 ml/ml), 2-4 ml/ml (mean: 3.1 ml/ml), and 1.5-3.0 ml/ml (mean: 2.4 ml/ml), respectively. The results showed that Zataria multiflora and Allium heamanthoides essential oils were more efficient than other essential oils against Candida species. There were no significant differences between various Candida strains in terms of susceptibility to the essential oils. In addition, there were no significant differences in the MICs of these essential oils against the azoles-resistant and azoles-susceptible isolates.Conclusion: In this study, the anti- Candida effects of six essential oils against both azoles-resistant and azoles-susceptible isolates were similar. Given the documented resistance of different Candida species to synthetic and chemical antifungals, these essential oils are effective replacement treatments for cutaneous and mucosal Candida infections, especially in resistant or recurrent cases.

Background and Purpose: Root canal therapy is the primary method for the treatment of an infected pulp in modern dentistry. The main aim of endodontic treatment is the elimination of bacteria and their products from infected root canals. In this study, we attempted to investigate the antimicrobial activity of three root canal sealers against oral pathogens.Materials and Methods: The antimicrobial effectiveness of three endodontic sealers with different chemical compositions, namely resin (AH 26), zinc oxide eugenol (ZOE), and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), against Candida albican s, Streptococcus sanguis, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus mutans, and Lactobacillus casei was assayed by agar well diffusion method (AWDM). The tested sealers were prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions and poured in the prepared wells of agar plates; diluted inocula (105 and 106 CFU/ml) of the tested microorganism strains were also used. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the selected canal sealers ranged between 3.12 and 50 mg.ml-1 against the employed microorganism strains. All the plates were incubated at 37oC under anaerobic condition for bacteria and at 30oC for C. albicans. After three days, the inhibition zones were measured.Results: In this investigation, AH 26 exhibited strong activity against C. albicans with the minimum inhibitory concentration of 12.5 mg.ml-1, but ZOE and MTA did not act against C. albicans. ZOE sealer had the highest antimicrobial activity against the tested bacteria, while MTA showed the lowest antimicrobial activity.Conclusion: The ascending sequence of microbial growth inhibition zones was as follows AH 26>ZOE>MTA.

Background and Purpose: Keratinophilic fungi are among the important groups of fungi living in the soil. This study aimed to isolate and identify keratinophilic fungi from the soil of three Iranian islands, namely Greater Tunb, Abu Musa, and Sirri, located in the Persian Gulf using morphological and molecular (polymerase chain reaction) methods.Materials and Methods: In this study, a total of 60 soil samples were collected from the three islands of Greater Tunb, Abu Musa, and Sirri. The samples were analyzed for the presence of the keratinophilic fungi using a hair baiting technique. Furthermore, the identification of keratinophilic fungi was accomplished through the employment of molecular and sequencing techniques.Results: A total of 130 fungal isolates, including 11 genera with 24 species, were collected. Accordingly, Chrysosporium tropicum (24; 18.5%), C. keratinophilum (17; 13.1%), Chrysosporium species (15; 11.5%), Aspergillus species (8; 6.1%), Aspergillus flavus (8; 6.1%), Penicillium species (8; 6.1%), Alternaria spp (6; 4.6%), Phoma species (5; 3.8%), Aphanoascus verrucosus (4; 3.1%), Fusarium chlamydosporum (4; 3.1%), Aspergillus trreus (4; 3.1%), Acremonium species (4; 3.1%), and other fungi (23; 17.8 %) isolates were identified. All isolates of keratinophilic fungi were isolated from the soils with the pH range of 7-9.Conclusion: The results of this study contributed towards a better conceptualization of the incidence pattern of keratinophilic fungi in the regions of Iran. Given that no study has investigated this issue, the findings of the present study can be beneficial for the management of public health surveillance, physicians, and epidemiologists.

Background and Purpose: Cryptococcus species are pathogenic and non-pathogenic basidiomycete yeasts that are found widely in the environment. Based on phenotypic methods, this genus has many species; however, its taxonomy is presently being re-evaluated by modern techniques. The Cryptococcus species complex includes two sibling taxa of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. We aimed to investigate the possible distribution of Cryptococcus species in pigeon nests and Eucalyptus trees in Ilam, Iran, using molecular techniques.Materials and Methods: Two hundred and seventy-four specimens were collected from pigeon nests and Eucalyptus trees during 2016-2017. All the specimens were sub-cultured on Sabouraud Glucose Agar with chloramphenicol and bird seed agar. For molecular identification, the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA region was amplified using the first and fourth internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS4, respectively) primers. The purified products were applied for cycle sequencing reactions in forward direction with ITS1 primer. The obtained results were analyzed with Chromas 2.3.Results: Thirty-three out of 186 cultures (17.7%) and 11 out of 88 cultures (12.5%) were positive among pigeon nest and Eucalyptus tree specimens, respectively. Cryptococcus albidus (17.2%), C. albidus var. kuetzingii (3.4%), C. adeliensis (3.4%), C. uzbekistanensis (3.4%), and C. neoformans var. grubii (3.4%) were isolated from pigeon nests, and Cryptococcus adeliensis (25%) was the only Cryptococcus species isolated from Eucalyptus trees.Conclusion: The presence of pigeons and Eucalyptus trees in the vicinity of some particular places such as rest homes and hospitals should be considered as a risk factor for the immunocompromised population.

Background and Purpose: Ozone is an inorganic molecule with effective antimicrobial properties. Clinical treatment of ozonated water was used for the elimination of Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis, endotoxins, and biofilms from root canals. In addition, its therapeutic effects for tinea pedis, ulcers, and leishmaniasis were investigated. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the fungicidal effects of ozone on different forms of C. albicans. In addition, antifungal susceptibility profile of strains was assessed before and after exposure to ozone.Materials and Methods: Fifty strains of C. albicans were exposed to gaseous ozone at different times. Furthermore, biofilm formation and germ tube production were evaluated when yeast suspensions were exposed to ozone. In addition, antifungal susceptibility of ozone resistant colonies was investiagted as compared to controls.Results: Ozone was highly effective in killing C. albicans in yeast form and inhibition of germ tube formation during 210 and 180 s, respectively. Although with increasing exposure time biofilm production was considerably decreased, resistance to ozone was much higher among vaginal and nail isolates even after 60 min. All the strains were sensitive to fluconazole, caspofungin, and terbinafine pre- and post-ozone exposure. Resistance to amphotericin B was significantly enhanced after exposure to ozone.Conclusion: Although ozone was highly effective on the yeast form of C. albicans and it can inhibit the formation of germ tubes in C. albicans, the complete removal of biofilms did not happen even after 60 min. It seems that ozone therapy induces resistance to amphotericin B.

Background and Purpose: Naganishia albida (formerly Cryptococcus albidus) is a non-neoformans cryptococcal species rarely isolated as a human pathogen.Case report: Herein, we present the case of a 26-year-old Iranian man with a superficial cutaneous lesion in the axilla. The initial treatment for pityriasis versicolor by clotrimazole was unsuccessful. We performed skin sampling based on the standard protocol and conducted further investigations by the conventional laboratory tests and molecular analysis of the skin samples. All the mentioned analyses revealed N. albida as the causative agent of infection. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) analysis was carried out for the isolated agent, and the patient was treated using 100 mg daily of oral itraconazole.Conclusion: N. albida can be the causative agent of some superficial infections. This is the first report on the successful detection and treatment of a superficial skin infection due to N. albida by oral itraconazole.