Antifungal Activity of Furcraea Foetida Extract Against Candida Species Isolated from Oral Candidiasis Associated with Orthodontic Treatment

Auteurs-es

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.5195/d3000.2026.1563

Mots-clés :

Oral Candidiasis, fixed orthodontic appliances, Antifungal activity

Résumé

The growing resistance of Candida species to a wide range of antifungal medications complicates the treatment of oral candidiasis. Our study explored and identified the in vitro antifungal properties of Furcraea foetida leaf extract against Candida spp. Isolated clinically from 50 patients suffering from active recurrent oral candidiasis associated with their orthodontic treatment. Methodology was depending on using agar plate diffusion and internal transcribed spacer (ITS)with PCR genotyping. Genotyping method demonstrated 23 isolates of Candida spp, showed high frequency of C.albicans isolates (65.2%, 550bp), C.parapsilosis (30.4%, 520bp) and C.holmii (4.3%, 720bp). By employing agar plate diffusion method, the results indicated that the 50% concentration of direct crude extract F. foetida demonstrated effective inhibition zones against Candida spp. isolates in comparable to 10 mg of fluconazole (p=0.403), but against non-albicans isolates, the extract showed smaller inhibition zones (p˂0.001). These results support F. foetida leaf extract as a promising natural antifungal resource for the development of topical or adjunctive therapeutic agents against oral Candida albicans infections, demanding further pharmacologic development.

Références

1. Sanz-Orrio-Soler I, Arias de Luxán S, Sheth CC. Oral colonization by Candida species in orthodontic patients before, during and after treatment with fixed appliances: A prospective controlled trial. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dentistry. 2020;12(11):e1071-e1077. doi: 10.4317/jced.57565. PMID: 33262874; PMCID: PMC7680563.

2. Mulimani P, Popowics T. Effect of orthodontic appliances on the oral environment and microbiome. Frontiers in Dental Medicine. 2022;3:924835.

3. Brusca MI, Chara O, Sterin-Borda L, Rosa AC. Influence of different orthodontic brackets on adherence of microorganisms in vitro. Angle Orthodontist. 2007;77:331–336.

4. Hamodat HF, Hamdoon S, Al-Adool RJ. Prevalence of Candida Species in Patients with Fixed Orthodontic Appliance. Mustansiria Dental Journal. 2025;21(1):40-50. https://doi.org/10.32828/mdj.v21i1.1165

5. Van Rhijn N, White PL. Antifungal treatment strategies and their impact on resistance development in clinical settings. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2025;80(12):3208-3226.

6. Abdallah EM, Alhatlani BY, de Paula Menezes R, Martins CHG. Back to Nature: Medicinal Plants as Promising Sources for Antibacterial Drugs in the Post-Antibiotic Era. Plants. 2023;12(17):3077.

7. Verloove F, Smith GF. An update on Agave and Furcraea (Agavaceae; Asparagaceae sensu lato) escaped and naturalized in Madeira. Bradleya. 2024;42:186-196.

8. Guest E. Flora of Iraq. Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Iraq, Baghdad 1966;458 pp.

9. Imran ZK, Ali Hasan KM, Kadhim WA, Muttaleb WH. A novel antidermatophytic activity of Furcraea foetida leaf extract against Microscoporum canis. Biochemical and Cellular Archives.2018;18(Suppl 1):1065-1068.

10. Bloch A, Bogiel T, Prazy-nska M, Gospodarek-Komkowska E. Usefulness of Chromogenic Media in the Identification of Candida spp. Yeasts Compared to Mass Spectrometry. Methods and Protocold.. 2025;8:98.

11. Magalhães J, Correia MJ, Silva RM, Esteves AC, Alves A, Duarte AS. Molecular Techniques and Target Selection for the Identification of Candida spp. in Oral Samples. Applied Sciences. 2022;12:9204.

12. Parekh J, Jadeja D, Chanda S. Efficacy of aqueous and methanol extracts of some medicinal plants for potential antibacterial activity. Turkish Journal of Biology. 2005;29(4):203-10.

13. Nadeem SG, Hakim ST, Kazmi SU. Use of CHROMagar Candida for the presumptive identification of Candida species directly from clinical specimens in resource-limited settings. Libyan Journal of Medicine. 2010; 5:2144

14. Ejaz H, Mushtaq M, Khan S, Azim N, Hussain A, Kakar K, Khan MZ, Hafeez A, Moeezullah S. Investigation of multi-drug resistant Candida auris using species-specific molecular markers in immunocompromised patients from a tertiary care hospital in Quetta, Pakistan. PLOS ONE. 2025;20(4): e0319485. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0319485.

15. Fujita S, Hashimoto T. DNA fingerprinting patters of Candida species using HinfI endonuclease. International Journal of Systemic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000;50(3):1381-1389.

16. Govindappa NS, Poojashri MN. Antimicrobial, antioxidant and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of ethanol extract and active phytochemical screening of Wedelia trilobata (L.) Hitchc. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy. 2011;3(3):43-51.

17. Amalraj A, Gopi S. Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. 2016;7(3);347–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2016.11.004

18. Iyer MS, Sheshanna SH, Rao RN, Puttegowda D, Ramu R. Antibiofilm and antimicrobial potential of Trigonella foenum-graecum and Ferula asafoetida essential oils against oral pathogens: Synergistic effects and in silico insights. The Microbe. 2026; 10,100667, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microb.2026.100667.

19. Devendra BN, Srinivas N, Talluri VSSL, Latha PS. Antimicrobial activity of Moringa oleifera Lam., leaf extract, against selected bacterial and fungal strains. International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences. 2011;2(3):13-18.

20. Devi GS, Priya V, Abiramasundari P, Jeyanthi PG. Antibacterial activity of the leaves, bark, seed and flesh of Moringa oleifera. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research. 2011;2(8): 2045-2049.

21. Sitrarasi R, Nallal VUM, Razia M, Chung WJ, Shim J, Chandrasekaran M, Dwiningsih Y, Rasheed RA, Alkahtani J, Elshikh MS, Ovi D. Inhibition of multi-drug resistant microbial pathogens using an eco-friendly root extract of Furcraea foetida mediated silver nanoparticles. Journal of King Saud University-Science. 2022;34(2), p.101794.

22. Oksman-Caldentey KM, Barz WH. Plant Biotechnology and Transgenic Plants. 1st edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2002;780 pp.

23. Amenu D, Desalegn R, Nugusa A, Tafesse T. Evaluation of antifungal activity of plant extracts against plant pathogen associated with sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L.), in Jimma, Western Ethiopia. Discover Applied Sciences. 2024;6:357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-024-06054-2

24. Maj W, Pertile G, Różalska S, Skic K, Frąc M. Comprehensive antifungal investigation of natural plant extracts against Neosartorya spp. (Aspergillus spp.) of agriculturally significant microbiological contaminants and shaping their metabolic profile. Scientific Reports. 2024;14:8399. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58791-4

25. Guinea J, Escribano P, Cadeau M, Lombardi L, Morio F. Emerging antifungal resistance in Candida parapsilosis: the end of the innocence. npj Antimicrobial Resistance. 2025; 3:99. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44259-025-00173-5.

Téléchargements

Publié-e

2026-09-30

Numéro

Rubrique

Adults & the Elderly