Effect of Brucea javanica and Piper betle on Candida Hydrophobicity

Introduction: Cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) is a key attribute of virulence among infectious microorganisms. An understanding of this property would help to explain the high colonization affinity of Candida species on oral surfaces and denture materials. Objective(s): The aim of the study is to determine the CSH of seven strains of oral Candida. The influence of crude aqueous (CA) Brucea javanica (Lour.) and Piper betle (Linn.) extracts on the CSH were assessed. Materials and Methods: Seven oral candidal strains were investigated and hexadecane represented the hydrophobic compound in the experiment. Following vigorous agitation of each candidal suspension with hexadecane, the optical absorbance (OD) of each suspension was read. The percentage of adsorption to hexadecane was calculated. To investigate the effect of the extracts on the CSH, the candidal cells were treated with extract at concentrations of 1, 3 and 6 mg/ml. Positive control was 0.12% chlorhexidine. Results: Candida krusei, Candida dubliniensis and Candida tropicalis showed the highest adsorption capacity to hexadecane at 30.23%, 26.19% and 19.70%, respectively, while the others were within the range of 7% to 10%. The CSH of all oral candidal strains were significantly affected following treatment with both plant extracts (p<0.05). The CSH of five out of seven candidal strains tested has shown that the B. javanica extract exhibited more than 60% reduction compared to P. betle. Conclusion: Both extracts may be considered as a promising candidate for the development of antifungal agent of natural products, especially in controlling the adhesion of Candida species.