She and her colleagues explain that in people with compromised immune systems - such as cancer patients, transplant patients, premature infants and sometimes the elderly - C. albicans can leave the gut and enter the bloodstream, where it can cause deadly infection, affecting the kidneys, liver, spleen, lungs, brain and heart valves.
They note that nearly half of patients with systemic C. albicans infection will die from it.
"People who get this disease are very sick and generally in the hospital," says Prof. Kumamoto. "Candida is one of the most common causes of bloodstream infections in hospitalized patients."
Although the current first line of defense is to use antifungal drugs, the researchers explain that they can contribute to the emergence of drug-resistant strains, so clinicians are cautious about using them.
Previous in vitro studies have shown that coconut oil has antifungal properties; because changes in the amount and type of fat can alter gastrointestinal microbiota, the team designed an experiment involving different high-fat diets and their effect on the guts of mice.