Article Type
Article
Abstract
Vaginal infections are one of the most prevalent gynecological diseases in the world among women of reproductive age, frequently caused by Candida albicans and opportunistic pathogenic bacteria. The development of antifungal resistance, in particular of azoles, requires additional or adjunctive treatments. Therefore, our goal in this study was the isolation and identification of microorganisms associated with vaginal infection, the frequency of C. albicans and bacterial pathogens and to check antifungal effect of 100% coconut oil with respect to conventional antifungals as well as synergistic combination. Vaginal swabs were requested from 18–45 year old women, and analyzed by standard culture techniques and the VITEK 2 Compact. Antifungal susceptibility was performed for Amphotericin B, Fluconazole and Amikacin combined with Fluconazole. The all C. albicans isolates showed good inhibitory activity by coconut oil (24–35 mm). Amphotericin B had widespread activity (17–33 mm) and Fluconazole yielded mixed results; 5 isolates were found to be resistant. A combination of Amikacin and Fluconazole showed increased antifungal activity (19–33 mm) in a synergistic manner. In comparison, coconut oil exhibited a wider inhibitory uniformity ranging between non yeasts and indicated 100% inhibition even in Fluconazole resistant strains.
Keywords
Candida albicans, Vaginal infection, Coconut oil, Antifungal resistance, Synergistic therapy, Amikacin, Fluconazole
Recommended Citation
Al-Joubori, Thariat Abdualrahman; Mahdi, Mohammed A.; and Ahmed, Ahmed Mustafa
(2026)
"Comparative In Vitro Antifungal Activity of Virgin Coconut Oil and Conventional Antifungal Agents Against Fluconazole-Resistant Candida albicans Isolated from Vaginal Infections,"
Muthanna Medical Journal: Vol. 13:
Iss.
2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://muthmj.mu.edu.iq/journal/vol13/iss2/5
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
