Synergistic mutual potentiation of antifungal activity of Zuccagnia punctata XXXX . and Larrea nitida @entity3895 . extracts in clinical isolates of @entity5132 and @entity7408 .

@entity1044 @entity7408 @entity17058 @entity5132 @entity3088 @entity364 @entity16296 @entity3895
BACKGROUND: Zuccagnia punctata @entity3895 . (Fabaceae) and Larrea nitida @entity3895 . (Zygophyllaceae) are indistinctly or jointly used in traditional medicine for the treatment of @entity364 . Although their @entity1044 ( @entity17058 ) extract have demonstrated moderate antifungal activities when tested on their own, antifungal properties of combinations of both plants have not been assessed previously. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to establish with statistical rigor whether Z. punctata (ZpE) and L. nitida @entity17058 extract (LnE) interact synergistically against the clinically important fungi @entity5132 and @entity7408 and to characterize the most synergistic combinations. STUDY DESIGN: For synergism assessment, the statistical-based Boik's design was applied. Eight ZpE-LnE fixed-ratio mixtures were prepared from four different months of 1  year and tested against Candida strains. L   (Loewe index) of each mixture at different fractions affected (  ) allowed for the finding of the most synergistic combinations, which were characterized by HPLC fingerprint and by the quantitation of the selected marker compounds. METHODS: L   and confidence intervals were determined in vitro with the MixLow method, once the estimated parameters from the dose-response curves of independent extracts and mixtures, were obtained. Markers (four @entity3088 for ZpE and three @entity16296 for LnE) were quantified in each extract and their combinations, with a valid HPLC-UV method. The 3D-HPLC profiles of the most synergistic mixtures were obtained by HPLC-DAD. RESULTS: Three over four IC50ZpE/IC50LnE fixed-ratio mixtures displayed synergistic interactions at effect levels     >  0.5 against @entity5132 . The dosis of the most synergistic (L    =  0.62) mixture was 65.96    g/ml (ZpE  =  28%; LnE  =  72%) containing 8 and 36% of @entity3088 and @entity16296 respectively. On the other hand, one over four IC50ZpE/IC50LnE mixtures displays synergistic interactions at     >  0.5 against @entity7408 . The dosis of the most synergistic (L    =  0.67) mixture was 168.23    g/ml (ZpE  = 27%; LnE  =  73%) with 9.7 and 31.6% of @entity3088 and @entity16296 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Studies with the statistical-based MixLow method, allowed for the finding of the most ZpE-LnE synergistic mixtures, giving support to a proper joint use of both antifungal herbs in traditional medicine.
