Abstract: Objective To study the correlation between Candida strains and vulvovaginal candidiasis. Methods Two groups of Candida albicans strains were chosen. Strains of group A and group B were isolated from vaginal discharge of normal women and of patients with candidal vaginitis respectively. The two methods, AMS (automated microbiological detection and identification system) and amino black stain, were applied to detect two phenotypic parameters, biochemical reaction of the strains and secretory capacity of the proteinases respectively, and analogous analysis was performed then. Results There was a significant difference in the levels of adonitol (P<0.05) between group A and B, and further study proved that the difference in the secretory capacity of proteinase was significant between them (P<0.01). By using the method of analogous analysis, 56 strains of Candida albicans were classified into 41 types, and could be approximately divided into 7 sub-groups. The strains in the sub-group c, f and g were mainly in group B and the sub-group b and d mainly in group A. Conclusion Increase in the levels of adonitol and proteinase may be related to the development of vulvovaginal candidiasis. At the same time, the advantage of using numerical taxonmic technique in stratin analysis is discussed.

Key words: Candida, Biochemical reaction, Staining