Activity of the aqueous extract of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi on strains of the Candida genus.

To evaluate the antifungal susceptibility profile of the aqueous extract of the bark of Raddi against the strains of the genus .  By using the disk diffusion method, 50 samples of the genus (; ; ; and ), isolated from patients receiving treatment at Hospital Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo, and 1 American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) sample of each species were tested against: the isolated aqueous extract of the bark of Raddi, isolated nystatin, and the association of nystatin and the aqueous extract of Raddi.  There were no significant differences regarding the different strains of tested. In the presence of the aqueous extract of Raddi, no inhibition halo was visible. Isolated nystatin formed an inhibition halo measuring respectively 18.50 mm and 19.50 mm for the species and the others referred to as non- (; ; and ). The association of nystatin and the aqueous extract of Raddi resulted in inhibition halos measuring 14.25 mm and 16.50 mm respectively. The comparisons of these results are statistically significant (< 0,001).  The aqueous extract of Raddi showed no antifungal activity in vitro against the strains tested, whereas the association of nystatin and the aqueous extract of Raddi caused a decrease in the inhibition halo when compared with isolated nystatin.