<![CDATA[Background: Candidiasis is an opportunistic fungal infection caused by Candida albicans, particularly affecting immunocompromised individuals. Increasing antifungal resistance has encouraged the search for natural anticandidal agents, including sea urchin gut symbiotic bacteria. Information regarding the anticandidal activity of gut symbiotic from Stomopneustes variolaris and Tripneustes ventricosus remains limited. This study evaluated the anticandidal potential of gut symbiotic bacterial isolates from these sea urchins collected from Laguna Beach and Pengubaian Beach, Kaur Regency, Bengkulu. Methodology: Six bacterial isolates, TVL 6, TVL 11, TVL 13, SVP 1, SVP 6, and SVP 15 were subcultured on Zobell Marine Agar (ZMA) and tested against C. albicans. Anticandida activity was evaluated using the spot inoculation method for bacterial cultures and the disk diffusion method for bacterial pellets. Nystatin and sterile distilled water served as positive and negative controls, with all assays performed in triplicate. Inhibition zones were measured using a digital caliper. Findings: All isolates inhibited the growth of C. albicans. In the culture assay, isolate TVL 6 showed the highest inhibition zone diameter of 11.58 mm, while SVP 1 showed the lowest activity (8.08 mm). In the pellet assay, TVL 11 exhibited the highest activity (16.65 mm), whereas SVP 15 showed the lowest activity (5.50 mm). Overall, pellet preparations produced larger inhibition zones than culture preparations. Contributions: Gut symbiotic bacteria from sea urchins collected in Kaur Regency, Bengkulu, showed promising anticandidal activity against C. albicans, supporting their potential as marine-derived sources of alternative anticandidal against and providing a basis for future studies on isolate identification, bioactive metabolites, and mechanisms of action.]]>
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