Applied Microbiology

Background: Diabetic patients are more susceptible to oral candidiasis infection than non-diabetic groups due to the factors promoting oral Candida in carriage. Several factors are the dilative of the colonization of Candida species in the oral cavity, such as xerostomia, which reduce the salivary flow and salivary pH disorder.

 

Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence and identification of candida spp. with CHROMagar candida and PCR-RFLP using HinfI and MspI restriction enzymes.

 

Methods: Samples from saliva and mouth lesions were collected from 106 individuals from June 2014 to September 2015, which were consisted of two groups: Diabetic patients (n=58) and non-diabetic (n=48) as the control group.

 

Results: In this study, oral candidiasis frequency in diabetic patients in relation to non-diabetic ones was more due to factors that promote oral Candida flora in diabetic patients. The frequency of candida species in diabetic patients group was Candida albicans (36.2%), C. krusei (10.4%), C. glabrata (5.1%) and C. tropicalis (3.4%), respectively. Likewise, C. albicans was the most frequent species (27%) in non-diabetic oral individuals.

 

Conclusion: Nutritional disorders, such as diabetes mellitus are considered as the important predisposing factor for oral candidiasis. The objective of this study is to determine the distribution of candidal species in the oral cavity with CHROM agar candida and PCR-RFLP in order to evaluate the amount of yeasts colonized in diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic individuals for improving patient treatment outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.