Implantation of <i>Candida albicans</i> and other <i>Candida</i> species in the oral cavity of rats

Abstract

The carriage of five Candida species in the mouths of normal and sialoadenectomised rats was determined for periods up to 30 days after inoculation into the oral cavity. In both test and control animals, Candida albicans was the species recovered in greatest quantities at all periods, followed by C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis. In contrast, C. guilliermondii and C. krusei were isolatable only in small numbers and only from the 1st up to the 5th day; they were not present thereafter. Sialoadenectomy favoured oral colonisation only by C. albicans (P < 0.05) and did not influence the carriage of the other species.