ALİ ABDUL HUSSEİN S AL JANABI
Journal of Research in Pharmacy - 2023;27(6):2530-2534
Tamoxifen (TAM) has been shown to have an antifungal action along with its anticancer activity. Various species of fungi have shown varying susceptibility to TAM. The antifungal activity of TAM was studied against clinical pathogenic species of Candida that are resistant to itraconazole through using disk diffusion and dilution methods. Of 50 isolates of Candida from women with vulvovaginal candidiasis, 15 isolates were resistant to itraconazole. These isolates consisted of four isolates of C. albicans, ten isolates of C. glabrata and one isolate of C. utilis. All isolates were inhibited by a high concentration of TAM (20 mg/ml). Candida albicans was affected by TAM at10 mg/ml (MIC, 5.5-7 mg/ml). High susceptibility with a low MIC value of TAM (3 mg/ml) was observed in Candida glabrata isolates. Candida utilis was also found to be the isolate with the highest resistance to TAM (MIC, 15 mg/ml). In conclusion; TAM is an effective agent against drug-resistant species of Candida in high concentrations. It was also demonstrated that resistant isolates of C. glabrata are the most susceptible to TAM. High-dose of TAM is recommended for the treatment of fungal infections caused by drug-resistant species of Candida. Further studies are needed in this concern.
