title: [Antifugal susceptibility testing and antifugal traditional Chinese medicines screening of oral Candida isolated from head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the sensitivity and resistance of pathogenic oral Candida spp. isolated from head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy to antifungal agents. To screen antifugal agents from Chinese traditional and herbal drugs by NCCLS M27-A2 method.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using YBC Test Kit to identify 20 clinical oral Candida isolated from head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy. The in vitro susceptibilities of 20 oral Candida spp. to 5-flucytosine (5-FC), itraconazole (ITR), fluconazole (FLU), the extracts of 6 Chinese traditional and herbal drugs (caltrop, honeysuckle flower, dandelion, green tea, pine bark, red trefoil) and utility componets of 7 Chinese traditional and herbal drugs (sophorcarpidine, aloperine, archin, glycyrrhizic acid, glycosides of white peony root, glycosides of baikal skullcap root, hydrochloric berberine) were determined by NCCLS M27-A2 method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of no-C. albicans in all Candida spp. were 25%. All strains were sensitive to 5-flucytosine, 25% stains were resistant to fluconazole and 40% stains were resistant to itraconazole. In all agents from Chinese traditional and herbal drugs, glycosides of white peony root and hydrochloric berberine (C20H18CINO4) exhibited antifungal activity, especially to C. glabrates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proportion of no-C. albicans in all oral Candida spp. isolated from head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy was pretty high. NCCLS M27-A2 micro-dilution method is a reliable and reproducible method and can be used to screen antifugal agents from Chinese traditional and herbal drugs.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Oral Medicine, The Ninth Affiliated Hospital of Shanghai Second Medical University, Shanghai 200011, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Zeng-Tong
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Wei-Dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D002175:Candida; D002176:Candida albicans; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral; D015725:Fluconazole; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D015725:Fluconazole