A master’s thesis at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Basrah discussed (the synergistic effect of various antioxidants with azole drugs against an isolated strain of Candida albicans yeast)
Researcher Aqeel Talib Qanbar Al-Assadi’s thesis included a study of the Candida albicans fungus, a highly pathogenic species of the genus Candida, which is a high-risk factor in post-surgical patients and is associated with a high mortality rate. Azole antifungals, such as ketoconazole, are used in this field and the increasing cases of treatment failure due to multidrug resistance require innovative strategies to develop more effective antifungal drugs.
      This study aimed to evaluate the synergistic effect of vitamin E and the fungus Hoofer fungi when combined with ketoconazole against the resistant Candida albicans fungi. The study was carried out in the laboratory on fungal dishes and on animal samples.
     The laboratory study was conducted by preparing several concentrations of both vitamin E and the invertebrate fungus, mixing them with a fixed concentration of the drug ketoconazole, and then testing these resulting concentrations on resistant Candida fungi in dishes.
      In the in vivo study, mice were divided into six groups of seven mice each, and then we selected two injection sites for Candida albicans on the back of the laboratory animal to induce a skin fungal infection. The treatment included ketoconazole and the above previously specified concentrations of both vitamin E once and the fungus (Hofnaria) again dissolved in a mixture of the solvent DMSO and glycerin in a ratio (4:1). The positive control was prepared by dissolving ketoconazole in dimethyl sulfoxide and then glycerol. 
     The results of the study were excellent as it was noted that the highest inhibition zone was at the lowest concentration of vitamin E with ketoconazole, and it was inversely proportional to the vitamin E concentration. Interestingly, high concentrations of vitamin E led to a moderate inhibition zone. 
The most important finding was that the mice achieved 100% recovery within 15 days of treatment compared to the control group mice.
     While in the fungus (intestinal hofner), higher concentrations had the best effect, and the inhibition was directly proportional to the concentration of the fungus (inferior hofner), and it also reached a 100% cure rate within 15 days of treatment compared to those that received ketoconazole only.