'Garcinia Kola Extracts As Antifungal Therapy for Oral Candida Infections'- A Comparative Study

Background: Candida, a normal commensal of the mouth is the cause of candidal infections of the oral cavity in patients with compromised immunity, extremes of ages and in healthy people with local factors that can precipitate the infection. Objectives: To determine the effect of Garcinia kola (G.kola) extract on oral Candida infection in non- HIV participants, to assess its side effects and to compare its efficacy with Chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwash. Materials and methods: A double blinded clinical trial was carried out in non-HIV participants with clinically diagnosed Candida infection. Consecutive patient presenting with oral candidal infection were recruited until the sample size was achieved. They were all screened for varying medical conditions. Garcinia kola extract and chlorhexidine mouthwash were administered to the participants by the research assistant after randomly selected into the two treatment groups. Both the researcher and the participants were blinded..(remove the 2 nd full stop)Data generated was analyzed using the statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows version 16.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago IL. Results: There were sixty six participants, with thirty three in each group, but fifty-nine completed the study (twenty eight in Garcinia kola group and thirty one in Chlorhexidine group) .The lesion was cleared in 96.4% participants who used Garcinia kola while it was cleared in 80.6% participants who used chlorhexidine at the end of the 3 rd week. There was a statistical significant difference (p=0.01) at the end of the 2 nd week in the participants; with 16 (57.1%) having it cleared with Garcinia kola and 6 (19.4%) with Chlorhexidine. Conclusion: Garcinia kola and Chlorhexidine were both effective against candidal infection, but Garcinia kola showed a better clinical outcome.