Evaluation of the effectiveness of ozonated olive oil against on oral prosthetic candidosis: in vitro study

Introduction: Candidiasis is the most common human mycotic infection, caused by an opportunistic and saprophytic yeast called Candida. (spp.). There are several types of Candida, including Candida glabrata which is the second most frequent etiologic agent of mucosal and systemic candidiasis. As it prefers warm-humid environments, in the human organism Candida is easily located on mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal tract, especially in the oral cavity. Candida species can be observed in 25-50% of the oral cavity of healthy people and its virulence is strongly correlated to some predisposing factors such as hypo-salivation, prolonged therapy with antibiotics, the use of dentures and all the elements that contribute to an impairment of the immune system. They are one of the main causes of microorganism biofilm formation and are isolated from about 80% of the oral mucosa of denture wearers. Although the assumption of antifungal drugs is related to the predictable development of drug resistance, it is not clear why C. glabrata is able to rapidly develop resistance against multiple antifungals drugs. Ozone(O3) is a highly reactive molecule composed of three oxygen atoms that acts as both an oxidant and oxidizer and it demonstrated its antimicrobial effect on bacteria, virus, protozoa and yeasts. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of a product based on ozonized olive oil for the cleaning of prostheses, through an in vitro study. Materials and methods : For this study it has been used a polyacrylate dental prosthesis infected by C. glabrata to simulate an in vitro sub-prosthetic infection condition. It was properly disinfected with alcohol at 90°C and then rinsed with distilled water to deprive it of any possible previous contamination. It was then infected with a concentration of 107 colonies of C. glabrata and placed in liquid culture medium with Sabouraud Broth. This one was shed into a container and 1 cc of saliva was added to it, as introducing salivary mucins into the medium was necessary to promote the adhesion of the yeast to the prosthesis. The container was mechanically shaken for about 15 minutes and then it was placed in an incubator for 48 h at 37°C. In order to perform the analysis, the prosthesis was picked up from the container and a sample was taken with a brush. This sample was rubbed on a Petri dish containing a culture medium Sabouraud gel (T0), and then placed into the incubator under the same conditions. Half of the palatine surface of the prosthesis was treated with 1.5 ml of ozonated olive oil solution (Ialozon Clean, Gemavip, Cagliari, Italy). The product was left acting for 5 minutes and then another brush was taken for a second sample to be brushed on a Petri dish surface. This one was incubated at the same condition previous described (T1). After 48 h, we observed the infected plates T0 and T1. We counted the number of colony-forming units (CFU) for both plates under a light microscope. Results and conclusion: A reduction of 3 CFUs are observed from the T0 Petri dish to T1. In literature has been highlighted the role of ozonated products such as ozonized water against Candida albicans, while at the moment there is no evident study on ozonated oil. Based on the results of this study we shall consider its effectiveness in the prevention and treatment of sub-prosthetic candidiasis. Further studies will be needed to confirm these initial results