MURINE YEAST GUT FLORA AFFECTED BY TETRACYCLINE, METRONIDAZOLE AND NORFLOXACIN

Three-month old, male Crl:CD1(ICR) BR mice, were fed food containing C andida albicans, while other mice of the same type were fed regular fo od. Both groups of mice were subsequently given orally either antibiot ics or normal saline for a 10-day period. The stools of all mice were cultured before, at the end, and one week after the end of the antibio tic treatment, to determine the level of gut colonization by the yeast . The mice fed Candida and treated with antibiotics had substantially higher Candida counts in their stools than control mice fed C. albican s and treated with saline. The concentrations of Candida in the stools of mice treated with tetracycline were much higher when compared to t hose of mice treated with metronidazole and norfloxacin. Tetracycline was associated with a statistically significant increase of gastrointe stinal Candida colonization. Yeast was not found in the stools of mice fed regular food and treated with antibiotics or saline. Histopatholo gic examination did not reveal dissemination of Candida in the viscera l organs of any mouse.