Investigating the antifungal effect of alcoholic extract of Butternut squash on Candida albicans isolated from vaginal infection

BACKGROUND: Vaginal candidiasis is one of the most important fungal diseases in humans. Butternut squash (B. squash) has antifungal effects. This study investigated the effect of alcoholic extracts of B. squash on Candida albicans (C. albicans). METHODS: In this laboratory experiment, B. squash using convenient sampling was collected from Babol City, Iran, in 2019. Determining the sensitivity of C. albicans to alcoholic extracts was tested using the disk, well, and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) methods and through determining the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Gas chromatography (GC) was used to determine the effective substances of the chemical compounds of B. squash extract. SPSS software, two-way analysis of variance, multiple comparisons, and independent samples t-test were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Around the disk with 70 g/ml of ethanol extract (10 mm) and methanol (11 mm), and the wells with 110 mg/ml of methanol extract (17 mm), the average growth halo was greater. The size of the non-growth halo and the increasing trend of halo diameter between different alcoholic groups increased with increasing extract concentrations, but this increase was not significant (P < 0.05). In all 3 extracts, MIC was observed in 5-9 tubes and MFC in 3-9. The highest chemical composition was related to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural with 83.62%. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, B. squash alcoholic extracts effectively inhibit C. albicans and can be used as a promising tool to control or treat fungal diseases.