• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.37-45
• /
• 2022

The fungal cell wall and membrane are the principal targets of antifungals. Herein, we report that myricetin exerts antifungal activity against Candida albicans by damaging the cell wall integrity and notably enhancing the membrane permeability. In the presence of sorbitol, an osmotic protectant, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of myricetin against C. albicans increased from 20 to 40 and 80 ㎍/ml in 24 and 72 h, respectively, demonstrating that myricetin disturbs the cell wall integrity of C. albicans. Fluorescence microscopic images showed the presence of propidium iodide-stained C. albicans cells, indicating the myricetin-induced initial damage of the cell membrane. The effects of myricetin on the membrane permeability of C. albicans cells were assessed using crystal violet-uptake and intracellular material-leakage assays. The percentage uptakes of crystal violet for myricetin-treated C. albicans cells at 1×, 2×, and 4× the MIC of myricetin were 36.5, 60.6, and 79.4%, respectively, while those for DMSO-treated C. albicans cells were 28.2, 28.9, and 29.7%, respectively. Additionally, myricetin-treated C. albicans cells showed notable DNA and protein leakage, compared with the DMSO-treated controls. Furthermore, treatment of C. albicans cells with 1× the MIC of myricetin showed a 17.2 and 28.0% reduction in the binding of the lipophilic probes diphenylhexatriene and Nile red, respectively, indicating that myricetin alters the lipid components or order in the C. albicans cell membrane, leading to increased membrane permeability. Therefore, these data will provide insights into the pharmacological worth of myricetin as a prospective antifungal for treating C. albicans infections.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.34 no.4 s.135
• /
• pp.303-307
• /
• 2003

For the purpose of searching for the new antifungal agent from the plant origin, we have examined twenty seven species of medicinal plants for the antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Pityrosporum ovale. The whole MeOH extract of each plant material and the n-hexane and EtOAc fractions were evaluated individually for the antifungal activity. Among the test materials, the fractions from the root bark of Zanthoxylum schinifolium, Zanthoxylum piperitum and Citrus unshiu showed significant antifungal activities in a dose dependent manner against Pityrosporum ovale and Candida albicans, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.273-278
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in-vitro efficacy of PDT using red light emitting diode (LED) with Radachlorin for biofilm inhibition of clinical Candida albicans isolates. The suspensions containing C. albicans at $9{\times}10^8CFU/mL$ were prepared on yeast nitrogen base containing 5% glucose. The biofilm formation was grown for 3 h after seeding suspensions each 100 ul on a 96-well plate and then supernatant was discarded. Each well was treated with $0.39{\mu}g/mL$ from $50{\mu}g/mL$ concentrations of Radachlorin on adherent biofilm. After a 30-minute incubation, light was irradiated for 30, 60, or 90 minutes using the following light source of wavelength 630 nm LED, at energy densities of 14, 29, and $43J/cm^2$. Afterwards, all supernatant was removed and dried. Adherent cells were stained with safranin O and dried. The cell viability was measured using a microplate reader at 490 nm. Also, a fluorescent signal on C. albicans was observed by saturation of a photosensitizer. In conclusion, a significant inhibition of 72.5% was observed to C. albicans on biofilm at the Radachlorin dose of $50{\mu}g/mL$ with 630 nm LED. The Photosensitizer (Radachlorin) was adequate at 30 minuttes for C. albicans. Overall, the results showed that inhibition of biofilm formation was Radachlorine dose-dependent. The results suggest that PDT, using Radachlorin with 630 nm LED, is able to decrease biofilm formation of C. albicans.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.477-487
• /
• 2014

Of the many pathogenic Candida species, Candida albicans is the main fungal pathogen of humans. The oral environmental factors considered in the Candida albicans colony forming unit test contain both host and microbial factors associated with candidiasis. In particular, Candida biofilms can develop on surfaces of prosthesis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of oral Candida species between the type of prosthesis and the situation of oral environment in patient with prosthetic appliance. The patients were 30 elderly subjects with different types of prosthesis, 7 who wore denture, 12 who wore implant and 15 who wore removable orthodontic appliance. We used Candida albicans colony forming unit test using saliva to exam the distribution of Candida albicans related with 5 oral environmental factors, gender, smoking or nonsmoking, alcohol/nonalcohol consumption, the type of prosthetic appliance and its treatment duration as well as tooth brushing frequency per day. In conclusion, for the patient's gender, site in the oral cavity and the type of prosthetic appliance and its treatment duration was associated with an increase in the distribution of Candida albicans in saliva. The distribution of Candida albicans within the oral cavity performs to be modulated to varying extents by oral environmental factors and, further investigations are required to elucidate these complex interactions.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.133-141
• /
• 2022

Candida is one of the most common causes of bloodstream infections and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients. The purpose of this study was to provide important information for formulating empirical treatment plans for candidemia by investigating the antifungal resistance rate of Candida. Among the Candida strains (973 cases) isolated from blood culture tests at the S hospital in 2009~2018, 4.7% (N=44) comprising the Candida spp. (932 strains) showed resistance to fluconazole. The resistant strains included C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and C. glabrata. In addition Candida spp. (947 strains) showed resistance to amphotericin B (N=6, 0.6%), flucytosine (N=23, 2.4%) and voriconazole (N=24, 3.1%). C. albicans was resistant to fluconazole (N=23, 6.9%) and voriconazole (N=21, 6.0%), The statistical analysis showed that C. albicans and non-albicans Candida species were resistant to fluconazole (P=0.039) and voriconazole (P<0.001). A monitoring system to understand the rate of candidiasis infections in a hospital setting is required. It is also important to make the right choice of the antifungal agent based on drug susceptibility patterns. Therefore, an infection surveillance policy that tracks Candida resistance through regular antifungal susceptibility tests is necessary.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.465-472
• /
• 2019

Candida albicans is an opportunistic human pathogen that causes infections. Candidiasis is often related to antifungal resistance because the pathogen has the ability to form biofilms. In a previous study, we found that the Salvia miltiorriza ethanol extract demonstrated anticandidal activity by altering membrane permeability and inhibiting the cell wall synthesis in C. albicans. Our results here demonstrate that $78{\mu}g/ml$ of the S. miltiorriza extract significantly diminished the early stage biofilms formed by 10 clinical C. albicans isolates by 51.3%; this was analyzed by 2,3-Bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide salt (XTT) reduction assay. The effect of the S. miltiorrhiza extract on the adhesion of C. albicans cells to polystyrene plates and germ tube formation was examined via microscopic investigation. Although the density of the adhered cells was remarkably reduced up on incubation with $39{\mu}g/ml$ S. miltiorrhiza extract, germ tube formation by C. albicans was rarely affected. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that the S. miltiorrhiza extract downregulated the expression of C. albicans hypha-specific genes, EAP1 by 34.7% (p < 0.001), ALS1 by 45.0% (p < 0.001), ALS3 by 48.1% (p < 0.001), and ECE1 by 21.3% (p = 0.006), respectively. Our data suggest that the S. miltiorrhiza ethanol extract significantly inhibited the early stage of biofilm formation by C. albicans by interfering with cell adhesion, by downregulating EAP1, ALS1 and ALS3, and presumably by modifying the cell wall and membrane structure.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.93-95
• /
• 2002

The antifungal activities of propolis on Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans were evaluated. In microbroth culture assay, the MIC(minimum inhibitory concentration) of propolis for C. neoformans and C. albicans were 2 and 16 mg/ml, respectively. In propolis-included solid medium assay, the MIC of propolis for C. neoformans and C. albicans were 4 and 16 mg/ml, respectively. Propolis showed fungicidal activity against C. neoformans, whereas propolis possesed fungistatic activity against C. albicans. The MFC(minimum fungicidal concentration) for C. neoformans was 8 mg/ml. Cell morphology of C. neoformans was affected by treatment of propolis. In scanning electron microscope, the appearance of cell rupture was observed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.942-945
• /
• 2010

The ability of the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans to undergo the morphological transition from a single yeast form to pseudohyphal and hyphal forms in response to various conditions is known to be important for its virulence. Many studies have shown the pharmacological effects of resveratrol, a phytoalexin polyphenolic compound. In this study, we investigated the antifungal activity of resveratrol against C. albicans. Both yeast-form and mycelial growth of C. albicans were inhibited by resveratrol. In addition, normal filamentation of C. albicans was affected and yeast-to-hypha transition under serum-, pH-, and nutrient-induced hyphal growth conditions was impaired by resveratrol.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.287-290
• /
• 2015

Antifungal activities of pomegranate were investigated. Seventy percent ethanol extracts of seeds, peels, and whole fruits of pomegranate showed similar antifungal activities against Candida albicans in liquid media, whereas extract of whole fruit showed relatively high antifungal activity in solid media. When 70% ethanol extracts were fractionated sequentially with chloroform and ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest anti-fungal activities against C. albicans. Ethyl acetate fractions of whole fruits and peel portions showed at least 36% and 25% growth against C. albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, and Candida lusitaniae in liquid media, respectively. These results indicate that pomegranate contains antifungal compounds soluble with organic solvents.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.45-52
• /
• 2010

Objectives : This experimental study was performed to investigate the effectiveness of Fel Ursi Pharmacopunture solution(FUPS) manufactured by using alcohol/water extraction method. To identify the use of it as eyedrops, antibacterial test on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, and Candida albicans was performed. Methods : After treatment FUPS on bacterial species(Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Candida albicans) which cause Keratitis, we investigated anti-bacterial effects of FUPS on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Candida albicans in terms of measuring MIC and size of inhibition zone respectively. Results : After FUPS was treated, significant changes of MIC on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum and Candida albicans were not observed at all. Conclusions : The present study suggests that FUPS doesn't have anti-bacterial effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum and Candida albicans which cause Keratitis. Perhap These results recommend that FUPS doesn't have anti-bacterial effects but have other mechanism which suppress inflammation.