Antibiofilm action of the combination of natural extracts of saffron (Curcuma longa L.) and roman (Punica granatum L.) on Candida spp.

• Grant number: 20/13069-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2021
• End date: September 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Luciane Dias de Oliveira
• Grantee: Tainá Marcela da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia (ICT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José dos Campos. São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The genus Candida is responsible for one of the most frequent fungal infections. Because of the increase in fungal resistance, phytotherapy has shown promise. The synergism of natural products has shown surprising results. The present study aims to evaluate in vitro: a) the antifungal potential of glycolic extracts of pomegranate and tumeric alone on planktonic cultures of Candida albicans, Candida krusei, and Candida glabrata; b) the possible synergism between the plant extracts and the antifungal potential that such combination will produce on planktonic cultures of such Candida species; c) antibiofilm action of the synergistic combinations on monomicrobial biofilms of Candida spp. with three different contact times: 5 min, 30 min, and 24 h. For the analysis of the antifungal potential isolated from the extracts, will be used the broth microdilution method (standard M27-S4 of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute). For the evaluation of the synergism of the extracts, the "checkerboard" technique will be used and the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FIC) will be adopted. The synergistic concentrations will be analyzed on Candida spp. biofilms formed by 48 h in wells of microplates for later determination of the CFU. The results will be statistically analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey's test (p d 0.05).