Effecte of ethanolic extract of propolis on protease activity of clinical isolates of Candida albicans

Candida albicans is one of the most common human and animal opportunistic yeasts and causes a wide range of diseases in immunocompromised individuals. Among the most important virulence factors in this yeast are the protease secreting enzymes that play an important role in pathogenesis and invasion. Failure to treat patients infected by Candida albicans infections, with conventional antifungal drugs has led to an inevitable research on new antifungal agents. In this regard, the protease activity of Candida albicans isolates in the presence of propolis extract was investigated in this research. The specimens were isolated from oral (15); nail (8) and vaginal (15) lesions. Protease activity was initially calculated in all isolates, and then the minimum inhibitory concentration of propolis extract obtained in the previous study was used to evaluate the protease activity in the treatment group. Results showed that the mean of minimum inhibitory concentrations and minimum fungicidal concentrations of propolis for all the isolates were 360.6 and 1250.1 μg / ml, respectively. The mean of protease activity in nail, vaginal and oral groups was 0.34±0.06, 0.02±0.03 and 0.35±0.06, respectively. Protease activity of all groups after treatment with propolis decreased significantly compared to control group (P <0.0001). Due to the property of propolis in reducing protease activity in isolates,