Synergistic action of starch and honey against Candida albicans in correlation with diastase number.

Abstract

To evaluate the synergistic action of starch on the antifungal activity of honey, a comparative method of adding honey with and without starch to culture media was used. Candida albicans has been used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of five varieties of honey. In a second step, lower concentrations of honey than the MIC were incubated with a set of concentrations of starch added to media to determine the minimum synergistic inhibitory concentration (MSIC). The MIC for the five varieties of honey without starch against C. albicans ranged between 40% and 45% (v/v). When starch was incubated with honey and then added to media, a MIC drop has been noticed with each variety. It ranged between 7% and 25%. A negative correlation has been established between the MIC drop and the diastase number (DN).