FIG. 3.

Candidacidal activity of peptides in saliva from different subjects and enhancement of activity by PIC. Whole human saliva from five healthy subjects was collected and clarified (filter sterilized). Peptides (at 50 μM) in 20 μl of each individual saliva or saliva containing PIC were incubated with an equal volume of C. albicans cells (10⁵ cells/ml in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.4) at 37°C for 1.5 h. At the end of the incubation, the samples were diluted 20-fold and aliquots plated on SDA. Loss of cell viability was determined as described in the legend to Fig. 1. Values represent the mean ± standard deviation (n = 5). P < 0.05 compared to those without PIC (Saliva).