Efficacy of CIM 1166, a combination of compounds derived from Mentha spp. in alleviating experimental vulvovaginal candidiasis in mice

Candida albicans is yeast that is most often associated with serious fungal infections and can cause fungal diseases in immuno-compromised patients especially patients suffering from AIDS, cancer and cases of organ transplant. Amongst women, candidal vaginitis is predominantly caused by strains of Candida albicans and also remains to be a common problem in immuno-competent or healthy women. A study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of a compound CIM 1166 obtained from plant source which was found to possess promising antimicrobial property under in vitro conditions especially against C. albicans. Taking the lead further, a small animal model utilizing aged Swiss albino females that had parturated at least three times were taken up for model development. Infection (7 × 10⁶ cfu/ml) was instilled into the vagina in a volume of 20 μl for 3 days. Vaginal washings were aseptically collected on day 4th to confirm the establishment of infection following which the treatment was started which continued for the next 5 days through vaginal route. Vaginal washings were collected on 6th day and the colony forming units were enumerated on chloramphenicol incorporated SDA plates. The results indicated that there was a significant decrease in the colony forming units in vaginal washings (8.0 × 10² cfu/ml) of the treated animals as compared to blank control group (6.0 × 10⁴ cfu/ml). The positive control group administered with clotrimazole also showed a recovery from infection with a fungal load of 8.78 × 10² cfu/ml. The study proves the efficacy of CIM 1166 in curing vaginal candidiasis in mice, which can be taken up for formulation development and further studies.