Ahlam Al-Awadi and Awatif Al-Judaibi
Camel urine, considered a ‘miraculous’ drug used in Prophetic Medicine, since the pre-Islamic era camel milk and urine were used as drinking medicine for different health problems. In addition, camel urine has proven to be effective as an antimicrobial agent, and may not have side effects for humans. Furthermore, camel urine may be resistant to factors such as high temperatures and an extensive waiting period in laboratory conditions, which can reduce the effectiveness of antibiotics. The aim of our study was to examine the effectiveness of camel urine as an antifungal agent following exposure to high temperatures and long time periods in laboratory conditions. After maintaining camel urine in natural laboratory conditions for 6 weeks at temperatures of up to 100°C, we tested camel urine on the fungi Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporum, and on the yeast Candida albicans. We then measured the dry weight of each microorganism, and determined their minimum inhibitory and fungicidal concentrations. Our results showed that after maintained for 6 weeks, camel urine did not lose its antifungal activity; dry weights following treatment were decreased 100% of the dry weight prior to treatment for Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans, and 53.33% for Fusarium oxysporum. Our study demonstrates that camel urine is a highly effective and resilient antifungal agent for treating human and plant fungal diseases.