Abstract
BackgroundSpices and herbs have been used in food since ancient times to give taste and flavor and also as food preservatives and disease remedies. In Cameroon, the use of spices and other aromatic plants as food flavoring is an integral part of dietary behavior, but relatively little is known about their antifungal potential.The present work was designed to assess the antifungal properties of extracts from spices used in Cameroonian dietary.MethodsThe in vitro antifungal activities of twenty three extracts from twenty one spices were assessed by the broth micro-dilution method against eight fungi. Also, the in vivo activity of Olax subscorpioidea extract (the most active extract) was evaluated in rat model of disseminated candidiasis due to Candida albicans by estimating the fungal burden in blood and kidney.ResultsSeven extracts (30%) exhibited moderate to significant antifungal activities, inhibiting the growth of the microorganisms at concentrations ranging from 0.048 to 0.39 mg/mL. Olax subscorpioidea extract exhibited the highest antifungal activity particularly against Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis (MIC of 0.097 mg/mL and 0.048 mg/mL respectively). Sixteen extracts (70%) were weakly active (MICs > 6.25 mg/mL). Oral administration of O. subscorpioidea extract at the dose 2 g/kg of body weight (bw) to artificially infected rats revealed a drop in the number of colony forming units per milliliter (cfu/mL) of Candida albicans cells in the blood below the detection limit (100 cfu/mL) while a modest decrease was observed in the kidney.ConclusionThe present work shows that some of the spices studied possess interesting antifungal properties and could be used to treat candidiasis. Among the plant species tested, Olax subscorpioidea displayed the most promising result.
Highlights
Spices and herbs have been used in food since ancient times to give taste and flavor and as food preservatives and disease remedies
In vitro antifungal activity: Spices have been used for generations by humans as food and to treat ailments
The in vitro and in vivo antifungal potentials of 23 extracts from spices used in Cameroonian dietary were investigated
Summary
The MFC was determined by adding 50 μL of the suspensions from the wells, which did not show any growth after incubation during MIC assays, to 150 μL of fresh broth. These suspensions were re-incubated at 37°C for 48 h (72 h for C. neoformans). Twenty-four hours after infection three animals were sacrificed to check the effectiveness of the infection by assessing the fungal load in the blood and kidneys. Determination of viable yeasts in organ samples: Twenty-four hours after the first, second and third treatment (at days 2, 3 and 4 of infection) three animals in each group were sacrificed by cervical dislocation; blood and organ samples were collected from each rat. All data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 17.0.2
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