Despite the availability of antifungal therapies, the World Health Organisation (WHO) considers fungal pathogens a serious threat to public health. Candida albicans, for example, is a common type of yeast fungus that causes infections, such as oral thrush, and has the potential to become persistent, even fatal.
Current treatments lack speedy and targeted action and can lead to various side effects. Moreover, the landscape of antifungal treatment is plagued by emerging drug resistance. As a result, people who are unresponsive first-line antifungals may need extensive and costly second-line treatments.
Still, researchers in Iraq say that extracts of beetroot and onions can be used to treat Candida albicans. Like commonly used medicines for fungal infections such as nystatin, miconazol and clotremazol, that are either topical (applied to the skin), oral (taken by mouth), or given intravenously (into a vein), beetroot and onion also demonstrated the best efficacy against Candida albicans.
It was in the May-June edition of the South Asian Research Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Candida albicans is a vaginal yeast infection which occurs in about 75 percent of people with a vagina at least once in their lifetime. When it grows out of control, it can cause several health problems, including digestive issues, fatigue and joint pain. Also, infections such as athlete’s foot thrush, vaginal yeast infections and diaper rash can happen.
Small amounts of the yeast live in various warm, moist areas throughout the body, including the mouth, rectum, vagina and parts of the skin. Its numbers are naturally kept in check by the bacteria and other microorganisms that make up the microbiome, the community of microorganisms that inhabit the body.
However, different factors can throw off the microbial balance, tipping the scales in favour of Candida albicans and allowing the fungus to grow out of control and to cause a yeast infection called candidiasis.
Surprisingly, beetroot juice is not only good for your health but also the skin and hair. It controls blood pressure and it is helpful in heart disease because it contains nitrates. Consuming its juice helps build stamina, supports weight loss because of its high fibre content and could be helpful in blood sugar control. Beetroot is also famous for its cancer-fighting properties and is great for anaemic persons.
Apart from its culinary use, onions are widely used in traditional medicine for digestive issues like loss of appetite, upset stomach, or gallbladder disorders. Onion is also used in treatment of heart and blood vessel issues like chest pain and high blood pressure. In fact, a study said eating raw red onion can help to reduce fasting blood sugar levels after four hours.
In this current study, which tested the antimicrobial effects of the different constituents, a mixture of beetroot and onion in varying ratios, as well as fungal and bacterial cultures, were created for testing. Various procedures, including hot water, were utilised to extract the active components.
The result revealed that the mixture of beet and onion extract gave the maximum inhibition zone on Candida albicans, with 100 percent concentration 5mg/ml giving the highest activity in inhibiting pathogenic bacteria and Candida albicans.
When nystatin and beet and onion extracts were diluted in equal proportions, the results revealed that beetroot: onion water extract had the most synergistic activity, followed by beet water extract and onion water extract.
The beet and onion water extract had the highest level of synergistic activity, followed by onion water extract and beet water extract, according to the results of diluting nystatin and beet and onion extracts at a ratio of 75:25.
Onion water extract with Nystatin at a ratio of 95:05 revealed the highest synergistic activity, followed by onion water extract and beet water extract. Finally, the highest synergistic effect is beet and onion extract with Nystatin.
When clotrimazole and beet: onion water extract were diluted 50:50, the results revealed that beet: onion water extract had the strongest synergistic action when compared to other extracts.
The researchers declared the existence of certain bioactive components with antibacterial action has been shown in beet and onion extracts.
“This, therefore, supports the use of beet and onion extracts by traditional healers to treat particular diseases. However, the required dosage and purification are still challenging. As a result, I recommended doing more investigation into the dosage and in-vivo evaluation of the beet and onion extracts,” they said.
Similarly, recent studies also found a mixture of either ginger with clotrimazole or yogurt and honey with clotrimazole more effective and as such may be more useful than the clotrimazole to treat vaginal candidiasis.
Researchers at the Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences compared the clinical effect of ginger cream along with clotrimazole with vaginal clotrimazole alone in a double-blind clinical trial conducted on married women aged between 25 and 35 years at the Gynaecology Clinic of Hajar Hospital in 2015.
They said in the 2017 edition of the Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology and Research that this cream, as an herbal and natural medicine, may be a good alternative for people who cannot use azoles.
In addition, researchers suggested that the therapeutic effects of vaginal cream, yogurt and honey is not only similar with clotrimazole vaginal cream but is more effective in relieving some symptoms of vaginal candidiasis.
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