ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study was carried out to determine the antifungal activity of Propolis against Candida albicans. To achieve this, the inhibition zone diameter of the Propolis extract which produced the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined. This was used to determine that of the cream formulation.

Method: The MIC of the extract and cream formulation were determined using the Agar well diffusion method.

Result: It was observed that the MIC of the Propolis extract against Candida albicans was 400mg/mL and the inhibition zone diameter of the Propolis creams were similar to that of the extract. The viscosity of the Propolis cream with emulsifying ointment base was lower than that of the Propolis cream with simple ointment base with better spreadability. The pH of the cream formulations was 7.09 ± 0.12 and 7.14 ± 0.09 which indicates that they are suitable for application on the skin.

Conclusion: From the study, Propolis is shown to have antifungal activity CANDIDA albicans and this antifungal activity is not inhibited by the cream formulations. Propolis emulsifying ointment cream is seen to have better physiochemical properties when compared to Propolis simple ointment cream.