New insight of red seaweed derived Callophycin A as an alternative strategy to treat drug resistance vaginal candidiasis

Anti-Candidal Marine Natural Products: A Review

Candida spp. are common opportunistic microorganisms in the human body and can cause mucosal, cutaneous, and systemic infections, mainly in individuals with weakened immune systems. Candida albicans is the most isolated and pathogenic species; however, multi-drug-resistant yeasts like Candida auris have recently been found in many different regions of the world. The increasing development of resistance to common antifungals by Candida species limits the therapeutic options. In light of this, the present review attempts to discuss the significance of marine natural products in controlling the proliferation and metabolism of C. albicans and non-albicans species. Natural compounds produced by sponges, algae, sea cucumber, bacteria, fungi, and other marine organisms have been the subject of numerous studies since the 1980s, with the discovery of several products with different chemical frameworks that can inhibit Candida spp., including antifungal drug-resistant strains. Sponges fall under the topmost category when compared to all other organisms investigated. Terpenoids, sterols, and alkaloids from this group exhibit a wide array of inhibitory activity against different Candida species. Especially, hippolide J, a pair of enantiomeric sesterterpenoids isolated from the marine sponge Hippospongia lachne, exhibited strong activity against Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, and Candida glabrata. In addition, a comprehensive analysis was performed to unveil the mechanisms of action and synergistic activity of marine products with conventional antifungals. In general, the results of this review show that the majority of chemicals derived from the marine environment are able to control particular functions of microorganisms belonging to the Candida genus, which can provide insights into designing new anti-candidal therapies.

Hierarchical 3D Snowflake-like Iron Diselenide: A Robust Electrocatalyst for Furaltadone Detection

An electrocatalyst with a large active site is critical for the development of a high-performance electrochemical sensor. This work demonstrates the fabrication of an iron diselenide (FeSe₂)-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) for the electrochemical determination of furaltadone (FLD). It has been prepared by the facile method and systematically characterized with various microscopic/spectroscopic approaches. Due to advantageous physiochemical properties, the FeSe₂/SPCE showed a low charge-transfer resistance value of 200 Ω in 5.0 mM [Fe(CN)₆]^3-/4- containing 0.1 M KCl. More importantly, the FeSe₂/SPCE exhibited superior catalytic performance compared to the bare SPCE for FLD sensing based on the electrochemical response in terms of a peak potential of -0.44 V (vs Ag/AgCl (sat. KCl)) and cathodic response current of -22.8 μA. Operating at optimal conditions, the FeSe₂-modified electrode showed wide linearity from 0.01 to 252.2 μM with a limit of detection of 0.002 μM and sensitivity of 1.15 μA μM^-1 cm^-2. The analytical performance of the FeSe₂-based platform is significantly higher than many previously reported FLD electrochemical sensors. Furthermore, the FeSe₂/SPCE also has a promising platform for FLD detection with high sensitivity, good selectivity, excellent stability, and robust reproducibility. Thus, the finding above shows that the FeSe₂/SPCE is a highly suitable candidate for the electrochemical determination of glucose levels for real-time applications such as in human urine and river water samples.

The liquid Kangfuxin (KFX) has efficient antifungal activity and can be used in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis in mouse

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is an infectious disease caused mainly by Candida albicans. Kangfuxin (KFX) is a traditional Chinese medicine preparation made from Periplaneta Americana extracts, which has the functions of promoting wound healing and enhancing body immunity and acting as an antifungal. Here, we evaluated the effect of KFX in VVC treatment in vitro and in vivo. The Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC₅₀ ) of KFX against C. albicans ranged from 7.65% to 20.57%. In addition, KFX was better than fluconazole (FLC) in inhibiting drug resistant C. albicans, and the effect was more obvious after 8h. KFX treatment also exhibited good activity in vivo. It restored the body weight and reduced the vulvovaginal symptoms in mice induced with VVC. It down-regulated the expression of the hyphae-related gene HWP1, thus inhibiting the growth and development of C. albicans hyphae. It also increased the number of neutrophils and promoted the scretion of Interleukin-17A (IL-17A), however decreased Interleukin-8 (IL-8) and Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in mice with VVC. We deduce that KFX effectively treats vaginal candidiasis in two ways: inhibiting the growth and development of mycelia to reduce C. albicans colonization and promoting the release of IL-17A and neutrophils number to fight C. albicans infection. This study provides a theoretical basis for the use of KFX for the clinical treatment of VVC.

In Vitro and In Silico Analysis of Ascorbic Acid Towards Lanosterol 14-α-Demethylase Enzyme of Fluconazole-Resistant Candida albicans

Antibiotic resistance is one of the major concerns and the biggest threats to the world population. The incidents of antibiotic resistance in Candida spp. were frequently recorded. In the present investigation, antifungal potential of ascorbic acid (AA) was evaluated. According to the in vitro analysis, the zone of inhibition of AA (24.75 ± 0.35 mm) against C. albicans was greater as compared to other vitamins tested. AA significantly modulate the growth of C. albicans at 25 mg/ml. The highest percentage (94.67%) of cell viability was observed in untreated cells, and low cell viability (29.36%) was observed in cells treated with 50 mg/ml of AA (2 × MIC). Further, AO/EB (acridine orange/ethidium bromide), propidium iodide staining, and real-time qPCR confirmed the loss of membrane integrity due to membrane lesions that caused cell death. Lanosterol 14-α-demethylase (L-14α-DM) is the product of ERG11 and acted as superior drug target of C. albicans. Molecular docking analysis confirmed that active interaction of ascorbic acid with L-14α-DM. Based on the present investigation, the efficiency of AA was effectively proved through the in vitro and in silico analysis. This finding has evidenced the effectiveness of AA as a potential candidate against C. albicans.