[Antifungal spectrum of epicarin. In vitro study].

Epicarine, 3-(2 hydroxy-1-naphthylmethyl) salicylic acid, has been used for a long time for the topical treatment of different dermatological diseases. We studied the in vitro antifungal activity of epicarine and its sodium salt by the dilution method in solid medium (221 pathogenic strains belonging to 23 different species). The results show that the acid is two or three fold more potent than the salt and that dermatophytes (MIC 20 to 1,000 micrograms/ml are more sensitive than yeasts and moulds (MIC 500 to 2,000 micrograms/ml). Because of the usual concentrations in topical applications (2 to 10%) and the absence of toxicity of this molecule, these results seem to show that the therapeutic use of this product is perfectly legitimate.