Activity Assessment of Tunisian Olive Leaf Extracts Against Survival and Virulence in vitro of Candida glabrata

Abstract

SOJ Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Open Access Research Article interest because it is less susceptible to azole antifungal agents, especially to fluconazole, when compared with other Candida spp. The therapy of this type of fungemia has been undetermined by resistance, variable efficacy between strains or species, toxicity, and requirement for long courses of treatment. A need for identifying alternative natural and safe sources of molecules, especially of plant origin, to treat these diseases has notably increased in recent years [2]. Recently, several studies focused on high-added-value compound of the Olive Leaves Extract (OLE) [3-5]. The Olive plant leaves are used in folk medicine as a remedy for eye infections, sore throat, urinary tract infections, kidney problems and backaches or headaches. It is also used as a hypotensive, emollient, febrifuge and styptic [6]. The leaves of the tree were reported to be potent for the treatment of malaria in 1854 [7]. Olive oil occupies also an important place in the Mediterranean diet due to its nutritional and dietetic qualities and the Chemlali variety from Sfax region had excellent nutritional characteristics in terms of sterol, aliphatic alcohol, and tocopherol content [8]. In the present study, we investigate the activity of Chemlali olive leaf cultivar against virulence and the survival of clinical C. glabrata isolates from blood culture, vulvovaginal, and buccal site. Materials and Methods Patients and isolates Sixty one C. glabrata clinical isolates were collected from 46 patients from different anatomical sites. Thirty five strains were isolated from Blood Culture (BC) and five isolates from oral site. Eleven C. glabrata strains isolated from three or more consecutive episodes of Candida glabrata vaginitis obtained from patients with RVVC (Recurrent vulvovaginal Candidiasis). Additionally, 10 patients who had experienced a single episode of VVC (Vulvovaginal Candidiasis) in a 1 year period were analyzed; two reference strain C. glabrata ATCC90020 and CBS138 and one C. albicans reference strains ATCC90028 were included as controls in the present investigation. All the blood specimens from the patients were inoculated into Bactec PED bottles (Becton-Dickinson, USA), which were incubated in the Bactec R Abstract C. glabrata has become a prominent pathogen less susceptible to azole antifungal agents when compared with other Candida spp. Aims: Our work aimed to study some virulence factors of C. glabrata isolates and to test the activity of Chemlali Olive Leaf Extract (OLE) against virulence and the survival of clinical C. glabrata isolates. Methods: The virulence factors of a collection culture of C. glabrata isolated from blood culture (n = 35), vulvovaginal (n = 21), and buccal site (n = 5) were analyzed in specific medium with and without OLE. Results: All C. glabrata isolates tested were able to produce haemolysin and to form biofilm (n = 61), 98.3% of isolates were phospholipase producer and 96.7% were protease producer. No significant difference between P...