In Vitro and Ex Vivo Antifungal Potential of Formulations Containing Terbinafine Hydrochloride Against Candida albicans

Objective: The present study aims at correlating the in vitro antifungal activity of developed formulations containing terbinafine hydrochloride (TH) with their in vivo activity observed in an animal model of onychomycosis. Method: The in vitro antifungal activity of the developed formulations was determined by cup and plate method using Candida albicans (MTCC No. 3018). The in vivo investigations involved histological and culture recovery studies after treating the infected animals with different formulations. Results: The findings of the antifungal activity revealed that formulations containing penetration enhancers possessed the greater potential of inhibiting the fungal growth as compared to the formulations without enhancers as well as that of marketed formulation. These observations were found to be in corollary with the findings of histology and culture recovery studies, in which the extent of growth and dry weight of fungus was observed to be the minimum in case of formulations containing penetration enhancers. Conclusion: The findings of in vitro studies were observed to be in consonance with that of in vivo studies.