• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.12-30
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• 2022

Many studies on plant extracts have been reported for the treatment of candidiasis caused by Candida albicans, a representative fungal infection. This study demonstrates the synergistic antifungal activity of the combination of Phellodendri Cortex and Magnoliae Cortex, previously reported to have antifungal efficacy. Considering the antifungal efficacy and the separation of the active constituents, berberine and magnolol, hot water extraction and carbon dioxide supercritical extraction were selected for Phellodendri Cortex and Magnoliae Cortex, respectively. A combination of 0.55 g/L hot water extract of Phellodendri Cortex and 0.59 g/L carbon dioxide supercritical extract of Magnoliae Cortex showed synergistic antifungal activity. The synergistic antifungal activity of 160 μM berberine and 100 μM magnolol, which are representative antifungal compounds of Phellodendri Cortex and Magnoliae Cortex, respectively, contributes to the synergistic antifungal effect of their extracts. The additive decrease in cellular ergosterol level and the increased antifungal efficacy by extracellular ergosterol suggest that disruption of the biological function of ergosterol in the cell membrane is not responsible for the synergistic antifungal activity of berberine and magnolol. Synergistic cellular release of chromosomal DNA upon mixing berberine and magnolol indicates that disruption of the cellular structure is responsible for the synergistic antifungal effect of berberine and magnolol.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.142-153
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• 2021

Candida albicans is a dermal fungus of the human body that is known to cause oral candidiasis, vaginal candidiasis, and bloodstream infections in immunocompromised people or in certain environmental conditions. As cases of strains resistant to antifungal agents in C. albicans have been reported, studies using plant materials as safe antifungal agents are being actively conducted. In this study, a total of 17 edible plant extracts showed antifungal activity against C. albicans as a result of evaluating a 280-plant extract library using paper disk diffusion method. Among them, the four extracts with the strongest antifungal activity (Cinnamomi Cortex, Cinnamomi Ramulus, Magnoliae Cortex, and Syzygii Flos) were selected and evaluated for synergistic antifungal activity against C. albicans. The combination of Magnoliae Cortex and Syzygii Flos showed a synergistic activity. The antifungal activity was evaluated based on the concentrations of magnolol and eugenol, the respective components of Magnoliae Cortex and Syzygii Flos. Magnolol and eugenol showed synergistic antifungal activities at the concentration ratio of 1:25 - 1:61. The antifungal activity of these two compounds contributes 28 to 48% to the synergistic antifungal activity of the combination of Magnoliae Cortex and Syzygii Flos extract. In this study, we propose that a combination of Magnoliae Cortex and Syzygii Flos can effectively inhibit the growth of C. albicans and that magnolol and eugenol are the responsible inhibitory compounds.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.59 no.6
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• pp.259-265
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• 2015

In recent, there are increasing reports about pharmacological activities of Crataegi Fructus which has been used for many centuries as medicinal and food sources in East Asia. However, its antifungal efficacy needs to be investigated. Thus, in the current study, we determined synergistic antifungal activity of the Crataegi Fructus extract (CFE) when combined with fluconazole (FLC) against disseminated candidiasis due to Candida albicans. This fungus is one of the most problematic fungal pathogens. Data resulting from a microdilution susceptibility test showed that CFE had a dose-dependent antifungal activity. When the extract was combined with FLC, the activity was synergistic. For example, the antifungal activity by the combination of CFE at $20{\mu}g/ml$ plus FLC at $0.1{\mu}g/ml$ was 4 times more effective than antifungal activity by FLC alone at the same concentration (P<0.05). In the murine model of disseminated candidiasis, the combination therapy potentiated resistance of mice, resulting in 80% of C. albicans-infected animals surviving the entire period of 40 days observation, whereas mice given CFE alone or FLC alone all died with 17 and 23 days, respectively, although they survived longer than the untreated control animals (P<0.05). The CFE's antifungal activity seemed to be related to the blockage of hyphal production of C. albicans yeast cells. In summary, CFE has a synergistic antifungal activity, which can be produced by combining CFE with FLC. Thus, our data strongly indicate that CFE may be a potential candidate as an antifungal agent for combination therapy.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.145-156
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• 2023

Many skin diseases are caused by microbial infections. Representative pathogenic fungus and bacterium that cause skin diseases are Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. Malassezia pachydermatis is a fungus that causes animal skin diseases. In this study, we propose a method for removing pathogenic microorganisms from the skin using relatively safe edible herbal extracts. Herbal extracts were screened for skin health through the removal of pathogenic microorganisms, and combinations for effective utilization of the screened extracts were identified. In this study, among methanol extracts of 240 edible plants, C. albicans, S. aureus, and M. pachydermatis were killed by extracts of 10 plants: Acori Gramineri Rhizoma, Angelicae Tenuissimae Radix, Cinnamomi Cortex, Cinnamomi Ramulus, Impatientis Semen, Magnoliae Cortex, Moutan Cortex Radicis, Phellodendri Cortex, Scutellariae Radix, and Syzygii Flos. By evaluating the synergistic antifungal activities against C. albicans using all 45 possible combinations of these 10 extracts, five new synergistic antifungal combinations, Acori Gramineri Rhizoma with Magnoliae Cortex extracts, Acori Gramineri Rhizoma with Phellodendri Cortex extracts, Angelicae Tenuissimae Radix with Magnoliae Cortex extracts, Magnoliae Cortex with Phellodendri Cortex extracts, and Phellodendri Cortex with Syzygii Flos extracts, were identified. By utilizing the selected extracts and five combinations with synergistic antifungal effects, this work provides materials and methods to develop new and safe methods for treating candidiasis using natural products.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.209-214
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• 2014

With the continuing demand for new solutions in the development of effective and safe candidiasis therapies, we investigated the efficacy of an antifungal agent from the marine brown alga Eisenia bicyclis. The methanolic extract of E. bicyclis evinced potential antifungal activity against Candida species. The ethyl acetate (EtOAc)-soluble extract from E. bicyclis demonstrated the strongest antifungal activity against Candida species among five solvent-soluble extracts. Indeed, the EtOAc-soluble extract showed minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 4 to 8 mg/mL. Furthermore, the EtOAc-soluble extract considerably reversed high-level fluconazole resistance of Candida species. The MIC values of fluconazole against Candida species decreased substantially (from 64 to $4{\mu}g/mL$) in combination with the MIC of the EtOAc-soluble extract (4 mg/mL). The fractional inhibitory concentration indices of fluconazole ranged from 0.531 to 0.625 in combination with 4, 2, or 1 mg/mL of the EtOAc-soluble extract against Candida isolates, indicating that these combinations exert a marked synergistic effect against Candida isolates. These findings imply that compounds derived from E. bicyclis can be a potential source of natural antifungal agents against Candida species.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 2012

The antifungal activities of the essential oils from Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, Abies holophylla, Larix kaempferi, Cryptomeria japonica and Chamaecyparis obtusa against Aspergillus fumigatus were evaluated. Essential oils were extracted from each conifer leaves for 8 h using water distillation method. The essential oil from A. holophylla appeared the strongest antifungal activity among the six oils with MIC value 0.125 mg/$m{\ell}$. The composition of the A. holophylla oil was analysed by GC/MS and then MIC was determined for main constituents of the oil. As the results, borneol and ${\alpha}$-bisabolol, which have a hydroxyl group, showed effective antifungal activities against A. fumigatus (0.25 mg/$m{\ell}$). In addition, the synergistic antifungal effects were observed in the combination of borneol and ${\alpha}$-bisabolol.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.221-227
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• 1999

The fungistatic and fungicidal activities of amphotericin B, fluconazole, miconazole, econazole, and 5-fluorocytosine against Saccharomyces cerevisiae were estimated in the presence of 1/2 minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and 1/2 minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of polygodial, respectively. Among them, the antifungal activities of miconazoles by polygodial was still shown against several yeast-like fungi including Candida albicans, Candida utilis, Cryptococcus neoformans, except for Candida krusei. The combination of polygodial with imidazole drugs against Saccharomyces cerevisiae was further examined using the macrobroth dilution checkerboard method. The fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) and the fractional fungicidal concentration (FFC) index between polygodial and miconazole were 0.16 and 0.19, while the combination of polygodial with econazole exhibited the FIC index of 0.19 and the FFC of 0.25, respectively. These results suggest that polygodial and the imidazoles on the fungistatic and fungicidal action are highly synergistic.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.610-617
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• 2016

Candidiasis has posed a serious health risk to immunocompromised patients owing to the increase in resistant yeasts, and Candida albicans is the prominent pathogen of fungal infections. Therefore, there is a critical need for the discovery and characterization of novel antifungals to treat infections caused by C. albicans. In the present study, we report on the antifungal activity of the ethanol extract from Salvia miltiorrhiza against C. albicans and the possible mode of action against C. albicans. The increase in the membrane permeability was evidenced by changes in diphenylhexatriene binding and release of both 260-nm-absorbing intracellular materials and protein. In addition, inhibition of cell wall synthesis was demonstrated by the enhanced minimal inhibitory concentration in the presence of sorbitol and reduced (1,3)-β-D-glucan synthase activity. The above evidence supports the notion that S. miltiorrhiza has antifungal activity against C. albicans by the synergistic activity of targeting the cell membrane and cell wall. These findings indicate that S. miltiorrhiza displays effective activity against C. albicans in vitro and merits further investigation to treat C. albicans-associated infections.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.346-356
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: Chemical fungicides not only may pollute the ecosystem but also can be environmentally hazardous, as the chemicals accumulate in soil. Biological control is a frequently-used environment-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides in phytopathogen management. However, the use of microbial products as fungicides has limitations. This study isolated and characterized a three-antifungal-enzyme (chitinase, cellulase, and ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase)-producing bacterium, and examined the conditions required to optimize the production of the antifungal enzymes. METHOD AND RESULTS: The antifungal enzymes chitinase, cellulase, and ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase were produced by bacteria isolated from an sawmill in Korea. Based on the 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis, the bacterial strain AM50 was identical to Streptomyces sp. And their antifungal activity was optimized when Streptomyces sp. AM50 was grown aerobically in a medium composed of 0.4% chitin, 0.4% starch, 0.2% ammonium sulfate, 0.11% $Na_2HPO_4$, 0.07% $KH_2PO_4$, 0.0001% $MgSO_4$, and 0.0001% $MnSO_4$ at $30^{\circ}C$. A culture broth of Streptomyces sp. AM50 showed antifungal activity towards the hyphae of plant pathogenic fungi, including hyphae swelling and lysis in P. capsici, factors that may contribute to its suppression of plant pathogenic fungi. CONCLUSION(S): This study demonstrated the multiantifungal enzyme production by Streptomyces sp. AM50 for the biological control of major plant pathogens. Further studies will investigate the synergistic effect, to the growth regulations by biogenic amines and antifungal enzyme gene promoter.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.784-787
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• 2008

Antifungal activity of ChiCW and synergistic interactions between ChiCW with fungicides were investigated. Conidial germinations of phytopathogenic fungi, Alternaria brassicicola, Botrytis elliptica, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, were inhibited by ChiCW but A. longipes was not. In addition, ChiCW showed synergistic effect with fungicides Switch (cyprodinil+fludioxonil) and tebuconazole to inhibit fungal conidial germinations. The level of synergism of ChiCW with tebuconazole was higher than that with Switch. The results indicate that ChiCW may exhibit a higher level of synergism with fungicides that have a primary effect upon membranes.