• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.168-174
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• 2011

In order to develop safe and economic novel antifungal agents, we prepared 73 methanol extracts from medicinal and edible herbs and examined their 365 solvent fractions using n-hexane, methylene chloride, ethylacetate, butanol and water residue based on the sequential organic solvent fraction method. When using the various fractions in the screening step for antifungal activity, we discovered ethylacetate fraction of Morus alba L., methylene chloride fraction of Pimpinella brachycarpa (MCPB), and n-hexane fraction of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, which all have activities in methanol extracts, as potential sources of antifungal agents. Amongst these, the antifungal activity of P. brachycarpa has not to date been reported on. In addition, the mycelial growth inhibition and spore germination inhibition activities of MCPB against A. niger were confirmed by disc-diffusion assay in a 10 day culture. The MIC and MFC of MCPB were determined as 0.25 and 0.5 mg/ml, respectively. The MCPB has no hemolytic activity against human RBC at 0.5 mg/ml and glycoside-flavonoids are theorized to be active constituents. These results suggest that MCPB has a prominent antifungal activity and that the application of sequential organic solvent fractions, instead of simple natural product extracts, is useful in the screening process of novel bioactive substances.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.46-49
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• 2000

Two neolignan compound, magnolol $(5,5^{l}-diallyl-2,2^{l}-dihydroxybiphenyl, 1)$ and honokiol $(5,5^{l}-diallyl-2,4^{l}-dihydroxybiphenyl, 2)$ were isolated from the stem bark of Magnolia obovata and evaluated for antifungal activity against various human pathogenic fungi. Compound 1 and 2 showed significant inhibitory activities against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporium gypseum, Epidermophyton floccosum, Aspergillus niger, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida albicans with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) in a range of $25-100{\mu}g/ml$. Therefore, compound 1 and 2 could be used as lead compounds for the development of novel antifungal agents.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.487-492
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• 2005

Simple competition plate bioassays of Pichia anomala SKM-T and Galactomyces geotrichum SJM-59 were conducted to evaluate their potential as biological control agents that inhibit growth of Botrytis cinerea during post-harvest storage of strawberries (Fragaria ${\times}$ ananassa Duche, Red-Pearl). Occurrence rates of fungi on the surface of yeast-treated strawberries were evaluated during storage at $4^{\circ}C$. P. anomala SKM-T and G. geotrichum SJM-59 showed antifungal activities on agar plate, and P. anomala SKM-T maintained its desirable antifungal activity on surface of strawberries and its physicochemical properties during storage. Sensory evaluation was based on kinesthetics and consumer acceptability. Due to its potential antifungal activity, P. anomala SKM-T could function as biological control agent against spoilage fungi during post-harvest storage of strawberries.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.6 s.67
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• pp.1003-1008
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• 2004

11 plant essential oils are screened in vitro for their antifungal activities against Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani, which are causative agents of serious plant diseases. The radial growth of the test fungi were reduced in response to the oils. Among them, the essential oil from the bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum inhibited 3 tested fungi growth, strongly, followed by those of oregano and thyme. The major constituents of the three essential oils, cinnaldehyde, carvacrol and thymol were tested for their effects on the fungi. From the results obtained, cinnamaldehyde, the major constituents of C. zeylanicum bark esential oil, has potential to be developed as a biopesticide for controlling phytopathogenic fungi causing serious damages on the important crops cultivated in Korea.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 1984

The effectiveness of three antifungal antibiotics amphotericin B, clotrimazole and 5-fluorocytosine was tested against 120 clinical isolated Candida species. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of amphotericin B was considerably lower than those of clotrimazole and 5-fluorocytosine. High-level resistance to 5-fluorocytosine was present in 50% of the isolates. The combination of clotrimazole and 5-fluorocytosine produced synergistic inhibition against all 20 strains of Candida albicans tested that were relatively resistant to both antifungal agents.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.99.2-99
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• 2003

An attempt was made to screen antifungal activities of Bacillus thuringiensis strains on various plant pathogens, Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diaporthe actinidiae, Botrytis cinerea, Glomerella cingulata, Colletorichum cocodes, Sclerotinia scierotiorum, Alternaria alternata, Helicobuidium mompa, Bipolaris coicis, Fusarium graminearum and Rhizoctosnia solani. Ten and forty-five strains of B. thuringiensis were isolated from animal feces in Korea and Japan, respectively. Inhibitory effects of the strains on the mycelial growth of the pathogens were examined on the mixed media of potato dextrose agar and nutrient agar. Approximately half of the strains inhibited the mycelial growth of one or more pathogens. Most of the pathogens were inhibited by any of the strains but Fusarium graminearum and Rhizoctonia solani were not inhibited at all. This is the first report that B. thuringiensis shows a potent antifungal activity on plant pathogens in Korea.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.271-276
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• 1999

Several Streptomyces strains were tested for potent antifungal agents active against phytopathogenic fungi. Among the tested, S. hygroscopicus MJM1004 showed a potent antifungal activity when assayed using Candida albicans as indicator organism. With the strain of MJM1004, fermentation medium for the production of an antifungal agent was developed with varying carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and mineral elements, which resulted in the highest productivity in the medium containing 2% soybean meal, 1% glucose, 2% starch, 0.3% $CaCO_3$, 0.05% $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$, 0.05% $K_2HPO_4$. The active compound showed a broad spectrum of antifungal activity against several plant pathogenic fungi. The antifungal compound was purified and showed the physicochemical characteristics similar to azalomycin F complex in NMR and MS analysis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.181-187
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• 2018

Background: Posaconazole is a broad-spectrum triazole antifungal agent and the most recommended prophylactic antifungal agent for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) undergoing induction chemotherapy. In this study, we evaluated the status and effectiveness of posaconazole as a prophylactic antifungal agent in pediatric patients receiving induction chemotherapy for AML. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of 36 pediatric patients with AML (between January 2013 and September 2017) at the Yonsei University Health System. Invasive fungal disease (IFD) was assessed as the primary endpoint of prophylactic antifungal effect. The secondary endpoints were incidence of fever, persistent fever despite the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for 72 h, alteration of antifungal agent, intensive care unit admission, and death within 100 days. Results: Among the 36 patients, 18 patients used posaconazole, 12 were treated with suspension formula, and 6 of them were treated with tablets. Eighteen patients did not use antifungal agents prophylactically. The mean number of days of posaconazole administration was $26.8{\pm}16days$. IFD occurred in 2/18 (11.1%) patients in the no prophylaxis group and in 1/18 (5.6%) patients in the posaconazole group (p=0.49). Conclusion: Posaconazole is expected to be useful for the prevention of IFD in pediatric patients with AML undergoing induction chemotherapy. Prospective studies of the effectiveness of posaconazole prophylaxis should be conducted in more pediatric patients in the future.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1729-1734
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• 2008

Chitosan, a cationic polysaccharide, has been widely used as a dietary supplement and in a variety of pharmacological and biomedical applications. The antifungal activity and mechanism of action of low molecular weight water-soluble chitosan (LMWS-chitosan) were studied in fungal cells and vesicles containing various compositions of fungal lipids. LMWS-chitosan showed strong antifungal activity against various pathogenic yeasts and hyphae-forming fungi but no hemolytic activity or cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. The degree of calcein leakage was assessed on the basis of lipid composition (PC/CH; 10:1, w/w). Our result showing that LMWS-chitosan interacts with liposomes demonstrated that chitosan induces leakage from zwitterionic lipid vesicles. Confocal microscopy revealed that LMWS-chitosan was located in the plasma membrane. Finally, scanning electron microscopy revealed that LMWS-chitosan causes significant morphological changes on fungal surfaces. Its potent antibiotic activity suggests that LMWS-chitosan is an excellent candidate as a lead compound for the development of novel anti-infective agents.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1164-1169
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• 2005

Characteristics of sophorolipid and rhamnolipid were evaluated as antifungal agents against plant pathogenic fungi. Eight percent of mycelial growth of plant pathogen (Phytophthora sp. and Pythium sp.) was inhibited by 200 mg/l of rhamnolipid or 500 mg/l of sophorolipid, and zoospore motility of Phytophthora sp. decreased by $90\%$ at 50 mg/l of rhamnolipid and $80\%$ at 100 mg/l of sophorolipid. The effective concentrations for zoospore lysis were two times higher than those of zoospore motility inhibition. The highest zoospore lysis was observed with Phytophthora capsici; $80\%$ lysis at 100 mg/I of di-rhamnolipid or lactonic sophorolipid, showing the dependency of structure on the lysis. In the pot test, the damping-off disease incidence ratio decreased to $42\%\;and\;33\%$ of control value at 2,000 mg/l sophorolipid and rhamnolipid, respectively. These results showed the potential of microbial glycolipid biosurfactants as an effective antifungal agent against damping-off plant pathogens.