Inoculation of *C. albicans* Strains to the Immunocompromised Animals

The oral cavities of the experimental animals were checked for infection with *C. albicans*. Following the confirmed absence of *C. albicans* infections, the animals were orally infected by rolling a cotton swab containing 0.1 mL of the prepared fungal suspension thrice over the entire oral cavity on days 3, 5, and 7. Confirmation of infection in the experimental animals and quantification of the number of CFUs in the oral cavity were performed by an oral swab test after 72 h from the last inoculation.

Treatment of the Infected Animals

The animals were divided into six groups. The control group was treated with normal saline, and the animals in the other five groups were treated with formulated HA-FS-NTF, hyaluronic acid hydrogel loaded with F-NTF (without sesame oil), hyaluronic acid hydrogel loaded with fluconazole, fluconazole aqueous suspension, and blank hyaluronic acid hydrogel. The treatments were continued for 3 consecutive days, and the ulcer indexes were determined on third day [24,25]. Scoring of the oral ulcer index in the experimental animals was measured as shown in Table 2.

**Table 2.** Scoring table of the oral ulcers created post-infection of *Candida albicans.*


The scores of the respective animals in each groups were recorded and analyzed.
