To investigate the influence of different concentrations of CaCl₂ on the hemolytic activity of candida strains.

A total of 25 candida strains were selected, including 21 candida strains recovered from clinical specimens, and 4 reference strains of C. albicans (ATCC 90028) (American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, VA, USA), C. glabrata (ATCC 90030), C. krusei (ATCC 6258), and C. tropicalis (ATCC 13803) respectively. CaCl₂ was added at concentrations of 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 2.5 g % (wt/vol). Plates were cultured at 37 ℃ in a 5% CO₂ atmosphere for 24-72 h, and the hemolytic index (Hi) was analyzed.

Comparsions of the hemolytic indices among the groups treated with 0.5% CaCl₂ (Hi = 2.247 ± 0.079), 1% CaCl₂ (Hi = 2.013 ± 0.092), 2.5% CaCl₂ (Hi = 2.150 ± 0.066) and the control (Hi = 2.749 ± 0.103) reached statistical significance (P＜0.001).

CaCl₂ may produce a decrease activity in the hemolysis of candida species.