Natamycin is a polyene macrolide antibiotics with strong and broad spectrum antifungal activity. It not only effectively inhibits the growth and reproduction of fungi, but also prevents the formation of some mycotoxins. Consequently, it has been approved for use as an antifungal food preservative in most countries, and is also widely used in agriculture and healthcare. Streptomyces natalensis and Streptomyces chatanoogensis are the main producers of natamycin. This review summarizes the biosynthesis and regulatory mechanism of natamycin, as well as the strategies for improving natamycin production. Moreover, the future perspectives on natamycin research are discussed.
Antifungal Agents/pharmacology* ; Fungi ; Natamycin ; Streptomyces

The advancement of phytochemical and phytopharmacological sciences has enabled elucidation of the composition and biological activities of several medicinal plant products including plant extract and essential oils. These products have been widely used around the world since ancient times for the treatment of various disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, peptic ulcer disease, microbial infection, sexual disorder and many more. Its popularity in the modern system of medicine is mainly due to their availability and fewer adverse reactions compared to synthetic drugs. Various scientifific investigations have been conducted to look for the potential of the extract from the plant or isolated compounds for the continued use of these products in the treatment and prevention of various kinds of human diseases. It is evident from the available literature and scientifific investigations that many plant species possess potential for use as a benefificial therapeutic remedy with multiple pharmacological actions such as analgesic, anti-inflflammatory, antipyretic, hypoglycemic, hypotensive, antimicrobial, antiulcer and anticonvulsant activities. The present review aims to provide relevant updated information about certain plant products, its composition, preparation and its fungicidal or fungistatic effects on different species of fungus as evaluated by studies done in the past. It introduces six medicinal plants that have been studied for their antifungal property and are found to be effective. The overall objective is to provide comprehensive information about the use of plant extract and essential oil for treating fungal infections and to explore the evidence supporting its effectiveness in treating fungal diseases without causing any serious adverse reactions.
Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Plant Oils ; pharmacology

Steroidal saponins have a wide range of pharmacological effects and biological activities, such as anti-tumor, antifungal, hypoglycemic, immune regulation, insecticides, etc. In the last ten years, some new structures of steroidal saponins compounds were found from natural plants, they have some new and different activities. In order to accelerate the research on the drug innovation of steroidal saponins, we summarized the new progress of the research on such compounds.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; pharmacology ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Steroids ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study the antibacterial effect against Candida albicans of the A-2186 silicone elastomer containing nano-TiO2 in vitro.

METHODSAntibacterial agent of nano-TiO2 was added into A-2186 silicone elastomer with incorporating percentages of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% (W/W). There was no nano-TiO2 in the control group. The antibacterial effect of the A-2186 silicone elastomer was determined using the film contact method with lighting and without lighting.

RESULTSEither with lighting or without lighting, there were significances between the experiment groups and the control group (P < 0.05). When the incorporating percent was 2.0%, the inhibitory effect was the best among the experiment groups. Without lighting, the inhibitory rate was 53.7% and with lighting, the inhibitory rate was 85.9%.

CONCLUSIONSThe A-2186 silicone elastomer containing nano-TiO2 has antibacterial properties against Candida albicans, which enhances with increases of nano-TiO2 percent in the material. With the same incorporating percentage, the antibacterial effect with lighting is better than that without lighting.

Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Candida albicans ; drug effects ; Nanostructures ; Silicone Elastomers ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Titanium ; pharmacology

Tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids distributed widely in the nature and some have a broad application in clinic. More attention has been paid in recent years on this type of alkaloid, owing to the diverse range of biological activities exhibited by these alkaloids and the discovery of new functional mechanisms and molecular targets underlying these activities. This article summarized the recent advances in the biological activities and functional mechanism of tetrahydroisoquinoline, which included the activities such as antitumor, antibiotic, antivirus, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulation, bronchodilation, and the action on central nervous system, with the purpose of providing some ideas in the study of biological activity of this type of alkaloid and in the search for lead-compound and rational drug design.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Anticonvulsants ; pharmacology ; Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Antiviral Agents ; pharmacology ; Bronchodilator Agents ; pharmacology ; Central Nervous System Agents ; pharmacology ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Tetrahydroisoquinolines ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Previously, we reported that epigallocatechin 3-O-gallate (EGCg) has growth-inhibitory effect on clinical isolates of Candida species. In this study, we investigated the antifungal activity of EGCg and antifungal agents against thirty-five of dermatophytes clinically isolated by the international guidelines (M38-A2). All isolates exhibited good susceptibility to EGCg (MIC50, 2-4 microg/mL, MIC90, 4-8 microg/mL, and geometric mean (GM) MICs, 3.36-4 microg/mL) than those of fluconazole (MIC50, 2-16 microg/mL, MIC90, 4-32 microg/mL, and GM MICs, 3.45-25.8 microg/mL) and flucytosin (MIC50, MIC90, and GM MICs, >64 microg/mL), although they were less susceptible to other antifungal agents, such as amphotericin B, itraconazole, and miconazole. These activities of EGCg were approximately 4-fold higher than those of fluconazole, and were 4 to 16-fold higher than flucytosin. This result indicates that EGCg can inhibit pathogenic dermatophyte species. Therefore, we suggest that EGCg may be effectively used solely as a possible agent or combined with other antifungal agents for antifungal therapy in dermatophytosis.
Antifungal Agents/*pharmacology ; Arthrodermataceae/*drug effects/isolation & purification ; Catechin/*analogs & derivatives/pharmacology ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests

The incidence of systemic fungal infections have increased dramatically, moreover, drug resistance including either primary (intrinsic) or secondary (acquired) resistance, becomes one of the main reasons accounting for the failure of treating invasive fungal infections in the past decades. Nowadays, clinically available antifungal drugs are limited and their combination in antifungal therapy was not effective. It is expected to be a new strategy to synergistically sensitize antifungal drugs against drug-resistant fungi by using new small molecules. Based on the study in our research group and the reported work of others, we reviewed the research of the natural products which have synergistic effect with the antifungal agents against drug-resistant fungi. This review focused on the resource, structure, pharmacological activity, and action mechanism of the compounds, as well as somewhat in common, and would provide theoretical base for seeking new drug against drug-resistance fungi.
Antifungal Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Biological Products ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Drug Synergism ; Fungi ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo performance susceptibility testing of antifungal agents. Due to the increasing number of resistant strains, susceptibility testing of antifungal agents is gaining importance.

METHODSWe compared the results of standard macrotube dilution reference method with two different microdilution methods, as well as the disc diffusion method in order to test the susceptibility of 150 Candida strains to fluconazole.

RESULTSOverall correlation between microdilution and macrodilution methods was 86%. It was 91% between the Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations obtained from macrodilution and disc diffusion zone diameters.

CONCLUSIONThe disc diffusion test was evaluated as a low-cost, reproducible, and efficient way of assessing the in vitro susceptibility of Candida strains to fluconazole.

Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Candida ; drug effects ; Diffusion ; Fluconazole ; pharmacology ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; methods

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of berberine hydrochloride on the cell wall integrity of Candida albicans hypha. The minimal inhibitory concentration(MIC) of berberine hydrochloride against clinical and standard C. albicans strains was detected by micro liquid-based dilution method; the effect of berberine hydrochloride on the colony formation of C. albicans SC5314 was investigated by spot assay; the effect of berberine hydrochloride on the metabolism of C. albicans SC5314 hypha was checked by XTT reduction assay, and the viability of C. albicans SC5314 hypha was tested by fluorescent staining assay. The effect of berberine hydrochloride on the morphology of C. albicans SC5314 hypha was examined by scanning electron microscope. The changes in the cell wall of C. albicans SC5314 hypha after berberine hydrochloride treatment were detected by transmission electron microscopy. The effect of berberine hydrochloride on β-glucan from C. albicans SC5314 was detected by flow cytometry. The effect of berberine hydrochloride on hypha-specific gene ECE1 and β-glucan synthase genes FKS1 and FKS2 in C. albicans was examined by qRT-PCR. The results showed that berberine hydrochloride showed a strong inhibitory effect on both clinical and standard strains of C. albicans, and the MIC was 64-128 μg·mL~(-1). Spot assay, XTT redunction assay and fluorescent staining assay showed that with the increase of berberine hydrochloride concentration, the viability of C. albicans SC5314 gradually decreased. The transmission electron microscopy scanning assay showed that this compound could cause cell wall damage of C. albicans. The flow cytometry analysis showed the exposure degree of C. albicans β-glucan. The qRT-PCR further showed that berberine hydrochloride could significantly down-regulate hypha-specific gene ECE1 and β-glucan synthase-related gene FKS1 and FKS2. In conclusion, this compound can down-regulate C. albicans and β-glucan synthase-related gene expressions, so as to destroy the cell wall structure of C. albicans, expose β-glucan and damage the integrity of the wall.
Antifungal Agents/pharmacology* ; Berberine/pharmacology* ; Candida albicans/genetics* ; Cell Wall ; Hyphae ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests

Candida is an intractable life-threatening pathogen. Candida infection is extremely difficult to eradicate, and thus is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals. Morevover, the rapid spread of drug-resistant fungi has led to significant decreases in the therapeutic effects of clinical drugs. New anti-Candida agents are urgently needed to solve the complicated medical problem. Natural products with intricate structures have attracted great attention of researchers who make every endeavor to discover leading compounds for antifungal agents. Their novel mechanisms and diverse modes of action expand the variety of fungistatic agents and reduce the emergence of drug resistance. In recent decades, considerable effort has been devoted to finding unique antifungal agents from nature and revealing their unusual mechanisms, which results in important progress on the development of new antifungals, such as the novel cell wall inhibitors YW3548 and SCY-078 which are being tested in clinical trials. This review will present a brief summary on the landscape of anti-Candida natural products within the last decade. We will also discuss in-depth the research progress on diverse natural fungistatic agents along with their novel mechanisms.
Antifungal Agents/pharmacology* ; Biological Products/pharmacology* ; Candida/drug effects* ; Candidiasis/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests