Antifungal Activity and Potential Action Mechanism of Allicin against Trichosporon asahii

Yang, Xiaojiao; Bai, Shuang; Wu, Jiamin; Yang, Fan; Zou, Yuekun; Xia, Zhikuan; J, Ao; Chen, Tong; Zhang, Ming-Wang

doi:10.1128/spectrum.00907-23

Cited by 11 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 59 publications

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“…Allicin and ampB differ primarily in their mode of action. Whereas ampB interacts with fungal ergosterols to form pores in the membrane and extramembranous spongelike structures [54][55][56], allicin, as already mentioned, mainly acts as a redox toxin [57], although interactions with the bacterial cell wall and fungal membrane have also been described [58,59]. Another mode of microbial growth inhibition is the disruption of lipid biosynthesis, as has been demonstrated for various Candida species [60,61], and the impairment of the expression of genes coding for enzymes of amino acid metabolism, protein degradation, iron acquisition, respiratory chain and thiamine metabolism, as demonstrated in Sacharomyces cerevisiae [62].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Combating Black Fungus: Using Allicin as a Potent Antifungal Agent against Mucorales

Schier,

Gruhlke,

Reucher

et al. 2023

IJMS

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Invasive fungal (IF) diseases are a leading global cause of mortality, particularly among immunocompromised individuals. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic further exacerbated this scenario, intensifying comorbid IF infections such as mucormycoses of the nasopharynx. In the work reported here, it is shown that zygomycetes, significant contributors to mycoses, are sensitive to the natural product allicin. Inhibition of Mucorales fungi by allicin in solution and by allicin vapor was demonstrated. Mathematical modeling showed that the efficacy of allicin vapor is comparable to direct contact with the commercially available antifungal agent amphotericin B (ampB). Furthermore, the study revealed a synergistic interaction between allicin and the non-volatile ampB. The toxicity of allicin solution to human cell lines was evaluated and it was found that the half maximal effective concentration (EC50) of allicin was 25–72 times higher in the cell lines as compared to the fungal spores. Fungal allicin sensitivity depends on the spore concentration, as demonstrated in a drop test. This study shows the potential of allicin, a sulfur-containing defense compound from garlic, to combat zygomycete fungi. The findings underscore allicin’s promise for applications in infections of the nasopharynx via inhalation, suggesting a novel therapeutic avenue against challenging fungal infections.

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