The effect of varying concentrations of Aloe vera on Candida albicans

Taking care of one’s teeth is a daily routine taught from a very young age. However, some people are more susceptible to mouth infections than others and have a hard time getting rid of them. The purpose of this experiment was to create an easier and more inexpensive way for people to treat Oral Thrush, a mucosal infection caused by the Candida albicans fungus that causes inflamed gums and sensitivity when consuming certain foods. It was hypothesized that a half water and half Aloe vera solution would kill the fungus more effectively because it would be able to diffuse within the broth more easily than the 100% Aloe vera. After the cuvettes were inoculated and the treatments applied, they were incubated for three days and the absorbance tested afterwards with a spectrophotometer. An ANOVA was conducted to statistically analyze the data and the null hypothesis that all of the means of the groups would be the same was rejected F((2,57) = 26.44, p = <0.001). Two-sample T tests were conducted afterwards to establish which groups the differences were between. It was concluded that there was a statistical significance in the difference between the control group and each experimental group but not between the two experimental groups. This means that the Aloe vera did help to kill the fungus, but the difference in concentration of the Aloe vera had no significant effect.