ACTIVITY ANTI-C. TROPICALIS AND EFFECTS OF THE COMBINATION OF (S)-(-)-CITRONELLAL WITH FOUR ANTIFUNGAL APPLIED IN VULVOVAGINAL CANDIDIASIS

Objective: Assess the antifungal potential of the enantiomer (S)-(-)-citronellal [(S)-(-)-CT] isolated and associated to amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole and miconazole against C. tropicalis from vulvovaginal secretions.Methods: The enantiomer was solubilized in Tween 80 and DMSO. Posteriorly diluted in sterile distilled water up to the concentration of 2048 µg/ml. The MIC of the product was determined by microdilution in RPMI-1640 obtaining dilutions of 1024-4 µg/ml. The MFC was determined by the SDA depletion technique from aliquots of 1 µl of the MIC, MIC × 2 and MIC × 4.Results: The antifungal susceptibility testing and the interfering effects of the association of the enantiomer with the standard drugs were determined by disk-diffusion in SDA. The MIC of (S)-(-)-CT was 64 µg/ml and the MFC 128 µg/ml. A high resistance of the strands C. tropicalis to amphotericin B, itraconazole and miconazole were observed. The combination test of the enantiomer with the amphotericin B, as well as with the itraconazole resulted in synergism 2 (66.6%) of the yeasts and in association with the fluconazole 1 (33.3%) and miconazole 3 (100%) of synergic effect.Conclusion: The (S)-(-)-CT alone is fungicide for the 3 fungal strains and in association with the four antifungals increased the inhibition zones, increasing the sensitivity