Investigation of antifungal activity and synergistic effect of propolis and curcumin extracts on trichophyton SPP

Zehra Özlem Ünal, Investigation of the antifungal activity and synergistic effect of propolis and curcumin extracts on Trichophyton species, Master Thesis, Department of Medical Microbiology, Institute of Health Sciences, Namık Kemal University, Tekirdağ, 2019. Dermatophytes cause dermatophyte infections which are the most common infections among superficial fungal infections. They use keratin as a food source and are commonly found in skin, hair and nails. Trichophyton species are the most common species among dermatophytes. Trichophyton species cause infection in skin, hair and nails, have asexual reproductive properties and show anthropophilic properties. Many antifungal agents are involved in the treatment of Trichophyton species. The inadequacy of these antifungals in treatment has led to the search for better therapeutic agents with fungicidal effects. In recent studies, it has been suggested that curcumin and propolis are suitable substances for such applications and research has accelerated in this direction. The aim of this study was to investigate the antifungal and synergistic effects of curcumin and propolis of 100 Trichophyton isolates. 100 Trichophyton isolates isolated from clinical and polyclinic samples between 11 October 2011 - 08 April 2017 were included in the study. 42% of the samples were isolated from hair, 23% from skin and 35% from nails. Firstly, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the isolates were determined by liquid microdilution method.Liquid microdilution checkerboard method was used for synergistic study. At the end of the study, it was determined that curcumin and propolis had antifungal effects both separately and together. This study is the first to investigate the synergistic effect of curcumin and propolis of Trichophyton isolates. Keywords: Trichophyton species, MİK, MFK, Curcumin, Propolis,Synergistic effect