Abstract

THE IMPACT OF AN IN SILICO STUDY AND A POLYHERBAL FORMULATION "CLEAN V" ON VAGINAL FUNGAL INFECTION CAUSED BY CANDIDA ALBICANS, BOTH IN TERMS OF PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

Kamrudeen Samani*, Kabita Kandel and Dhirendra K. Sah

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Abstract

Vaginal fungal infection is second after bacterial infection and Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC), mainly caused by Candida albicans(with 40-45% recurrence), influencing women’s reproductive function and morbidity in newborns is of global concern. Despite the prescription of oral antifungal agents, it is imperative to have natural products derived from local treatment formulation that can also restore the vaginal micro-ecosystem. Clean V, formulated with different natural oils as antifungal agents and lactic acid for pH modulation was developed. The antifungal activity of Clean V against C. albicansATCC 10231 showed 20 mg/ml as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in disk and well diffusion method with 2.0 cm of a zone of inhibition and 30 mg/ml. as minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) in pour plate method with 2-minute exposure time against log phase growing pathogen. Comparative analysis of the commercial similar product that had the same MIC but in MFC assay at the same concentration showed 2.44X103 colony forming units per mL (CFU/mL) indicating Clean V to be superior. Using lactic acid as a pH-modulating agent can aid in the restoration of vaginal microflora. Additionally, Clean V, which contains a surfactant free of sulphate and paraben, is suitable for individuals with sensitive skin. Therefore, it is proposed that Clean V may offer improved effectiveness as a substitute for treating VVC. After conducting in-silico research on ligand-protein interaction, it was found that 1,8-cineole, lactic acid, linalyl acetate, linalol, and terpinene-4-ol show good binding energies with the target C. albicans.

Keywords: Antifungal, Lactic acid, Natural oils, Vulvovaginal Candidiasis.