Antimicrobial Activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae against Candida spp. Associated to Vulvovaginal Candidiasis

This research aims to study the antimicrobial activity (AMA) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae against Candida spp. associated to vulvovaginal candidiasis and compared their efficacy to other therapeutic alternatives. Clinical samples were collected from 70 women aged 40-50 years old, married with children and referred for chronic vulvovaginal complaints. Drug sensitivity test were carried out on 25 Candida isolates used disk diffusion method. Agar well diffusion method was used to evaluate the antifungal activity of vaginal douching solutions and the AMA of S. cerevisiae. Growth kinetic of antimicrobial agent was monitored by measuring optical density at 530 nm. Microdillution method was applied to determine MIC. In current study, Candida spp. distribution was (35.70%), Enterobacteriaceae (25.70%), Staphylococcus spp. (14.20%) and Lactobacillus spp. (14.20%). Identification of Candida isolates reveled that C. albicans was higher (52.0%) then C. glabrata (36.0%) and C. tropicalis (12.0%). Drug susceptibility testing showed that C. albicans YCI13, C. grabrata YCI15, C. tropicalis YCI23 and C. tropicalis YCI25 were high resistant to antibiotics and resist relatively to antifungals. Candida spp. were resistant to citric acid, acetic acid and H2O2, but sensible to NaHCO3 and EDTA. S. cerevisiae showed effective antifungal activity against C. albicans YCI13, C. grabrata YCI15, C. tropicalis YCI23 and C. tropicalis YCI25. The AMA peaked at the early latency phase and high level was produced during exponential phase 24 h of fermentation. MIC and MBC values of S. cerevisiae antimicrobial agent are 0.25 μg / ml and 3.104 cfu / ml against C. tropicalis YCI25. The study concluded that we can formulate a novel antifungal agent of natural origin from S. cerevisiae which could be used as a cheaper alternative for the therapeutic management of vulvovaginal candidiasis.