Antifungal activity of four honeys of different types from Algeria against pathogenic yeast: Candida albicans and Rhodotorula sp.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the antifungal activity of four honeys of different types from Algeria against pathogenic yeast i.e. Candida albicans (C. albicans) and Rhodotorula sp. METHODS Four Algeria honeys of different botanical origin were analyzed to test antifungal effect against C. albicans, and Rhodotorula sp. Different concentrations (undiluted, 10%, 30%, 50% and 70% w/v) of honey were studied in vitro for their antifugal activity using C. albicans and Rhodotorula sp. as fungal strains. RESULTS The range of the diameter of zone of inhibition of various concentrations of tested honeys was (7-23 mm) for Rhodotorula sp., while C. albicans showed clearly resistance towards all concentrations used. The MICs of tested honey concentrations against C. albicans and Rhodotorula sp. were (70.09-93.48)% and (4.90-99.70)% v/v, respectively. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that, in vitro, these natural products have clearly an antifungal activity against Rhodotorula sp. and C. albicans.