Comparative study on the antifungal activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Iranian Propolis and Royal jelly against Rhizopus oryzae

Introduction: Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection. Rhizopus oryzae is major cause of mucormycosis in humans. This disease is the most common form of the acute fungal infection with rapid progress. Iranian Propolis extract and Royal jelly are honey bee products which have been used by human over the past centuries in traditional medicine. In this study the effects of Iranian Propolis and Royal jelly were investigated against Rhizopus oryzae and Candida albicans. Methods: The used method in this study was microdilution. To perform it, the prepared dilutions of Royal jelly and alcoholic extract of Iranian Propolis were added to tubes containing Sabouraud dextrose broth culture media except to control group and then Rhizopus oryzae suspension was added to all microtubes. In the next stage, microtubes were maintained in incubator at ۲۵oC for ۴۸ hours and then ۱۰ ml of the content of each microtube was transferred to Sabouraud dextrose agar media. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the agents were calculated. Results: In this study, the MIC and MFC of Iranian Propolis alcoholic extract on Rhizopus oryzae were respectively ۰.۱ and ۰.۲۵ mg/ml and the MFC of Royal jelly on Rhizopus oryzae were respectively ۱۰۰ ± ۳۴ and ۱۳۳ ± ۴۶ mg/ml. Conclusion: The results indicate that Propolis might be used as an ideal combination for the treatment of fungal infections like Rhizopus oryzae. However, clinical studies are needed to confirm the effects of these drugs.