The antifungal activity of human parotid secretion is species-specific

Abstract

Candida albicans is the major fungal colonizer of the oral cavity and causes oral candidiasis in immunocompromised patient populations. While antifungal proteins in saliva have been identified and the virulence factors of C. albicans have been well studied, little is known about the role saliva plays in the preferential colonization of the oral cavity by C. albicans. We report that the fungistatic activity of human parotid secretion toward six C. albicans strains is considerably lower than towards nine non-C. albicans fungal species (average IC₅₀ values >1000 mg/l and <70 mg/l, respectively). The species-specific activity of parotid secretion suggests that saliva may play a determining role in oral fungal colonization patterns.

Keywords:

• antifungal
• salivary
• colonization
• growth inhibition
• fungistatic

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by NIH grants DE16699 (EJH), DE18132 (EJH), AI087803 (EJH), DE05672 (FGO) and DE07652 (FGO).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

This paper was first published online on Early Online on 2 September 2010.