Kınanın (Lawsonia inermis L.) Klinik Candida İsolatları Üzerine Antifungal Aktivitesi

Lawsonia inermis L. (henna) is a much branched shrub or small tree, cultivated for its voluable leaves although stem, bark and roots have also been used in traditional medicine for over 9,000 years. In this study, the antifungal activity of L. inermis was determined against clinical Candida isolates The study was carried out using 192 clinical isolates of Candida from six different species; 135 Candida albicans, 19 Candida parapsilosis, 17 Candida glabrata, 13 Candida tropicalis, 5 Candida krusei, 3 Candida kefyr. The anticandidal activities of L. inermis (henna) as paste form was determined by agar diffusion technique. The highest antifungal activity of henna was obtained against 68 (35.4%) clinical Candida isolates (≥20mm inhibition zone) and moderate activity also detected against 73 (38.0%) isolates (5-15 mm inhibition zone). Fifty-one (26.5%) isolates were resistance (no inhibition zone) to henna paste