Influence of Licid on Fungi of Human Hair and Keratin Degradation

The effect of licid lotion (recommended by professionals for killing and protection against head lice and nits) on the presence of fungi on 96 human hair samples were studied by plating the untreated and licid-treated hair directly on Sabouraud's dextrose agar medium and by using soil plating technique. Licid caused an inhibition in frequency of occurrence of all fungal genera recovered on treated hair samples using soil plating technique, when compared with those of un-treated specimens. However, the frequency of occurrence of each of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Rhizopus was promoted by licid using direct plating technique. The capabilities of selected four fungal species to degrade keratin in licid treated liquid medium were also tested. The quantities of amino-N and protein-N in culture media (containing 2.6% human hair as a keratinaceous substrate) inoculated with each of Alternaria alternata, Chrysosporium indicum, C. keratinophilum and C. tropicum and supplemented with different concentrations of licid (500, 1000 and 1500 g ml-1) were increased.