Antifungal activity of the essential oil of Angelica major against Candida, Cryptococcus, Aspergillus and dermatophyte species

Abstract

The composition and antifungal activity of the essential oil (EO) of Angelica major and its main components α-pinene and cis-β-ocimene against clinically relevant yeasts and moulds were evaluated. EO from the plant's aerial parts was obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The oil showed high contents of α-pinene (21.8 %) and cis-β-ocimene (30.4 %). Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were measured according to the broth macrodilution protocols by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). The EO, α-pinene and cis-β-ocimene displayed low MICs and minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) against dermatophytes and Cryptococcus neoformans, with α-pinene being the most active. Regarding Candida species, the EO susceptibility profiles seem to be diverse and not correlated with fluconazole susceptibility patterns. Moreover, an inhibition of yeast-mycelium transition was demonstrated at sub-inhibitory concentrations of the EO, α-pinene and cis-β-ocimene in C. albicans. In addition, their haemolytic activity was low. The activity displayed by A. major EO and its main components associated with low cytotoxic activity confirms their potential as an antifungal agent against fungal species frequently implicated in human mycoses, particularly cryptococcosis and dermatophytosis. The association with commercial antifungal compounds could bring benefits, by the effect on germ tube formation, and be used in mucocutaneous candidiasis treatment.

Identification of new anti-Candida compounds by ligand-based pharmacophore virtual screening

“…Clinically, azoles are first-line agents in treating fungal infections; however, there is an emergent demand for the discovery of new antifungal agents to open the possibility of a novel therapeutic approach 2 . As regards natural products, in literature there are several studies investigating the promising antimicrobial activity of chemical compounds content in essential oils and medicinal plants, also traditionally used for the treatment of various health disorders [3][4][5] . Both structure and ligand-based virtual screening (SBVS and LBVS) represent alternative and innovative approaches for identifying new compounds, but, until now, in the field of anti-Candida, computational techniques were used only to explain the structureactivity relationships, to design synthetic derivatives for the lead optimization and to display hypothetic mechanisms of action [6][7][8] .…”

Cryptococcal therapies and drug targets: the old, the new and the promising

“…High-throughput screens generated at least two new classes of compounds with anticryptococcal activity in vitro: hydroxyaldimines or Schiff bases, (Magalhães et al, 2013) and aminiothiazioles (Khalil et al, 2015). Natural extracts from seaweeds or herbal essential oils have anti-cryptococcal activity (Amraoui et al, 2014;Cavaleiro et al, 2015) and curcumin, a molecule present in turmeric, was beneficial in mouse models of cryptococcosis (da Silva et al, 2016). A recent forward genetic screen has identified previously unknown genes essential for cryptococcal viability and potentially targetable (Ianiri and Idnurm, 2015).…”

Kazakh Ziziphora Species as Sources of Bioactive Substances

“…rigida (0.2%) [21] Z. clinopodioides subsp. bungeana (0.3%) [201] Z. tenuior (0.1%) [179,202] [203,204] 3,7-Dimethyl-1,3,7-octa-triene (33) Z. tenuior [94] n.f.…”

“…clinopodioides (1.1%) [184] Antibacterial [187] Antifungal (Candida strains, Cryptococcus neoformans, Epidermophyton floccosum, Microsporum canis and M. gypseum, Trychophyton mentagrophytes and T. verrucosum, Aspergillus flavus, A fumigatus, A. niger) [203,204] Molecules 2016, 21, 826 13 of 53 Z. clinopodioides (0.6%-1.9%) [9,15,185] Antibacterial, antitermitic, antifungal [187] Antioxidant (DPPH) [188] Some cytotoxic activity [189] Low fumigant activity against various species of insects [190,191] Sedative and motor relaxant effects in mice [192] Anti-inflammatory activity in the mouse model of pleurisy induced by LPS [193] Protective effect against t-BOOH induced mutagenesis [194] Immunomodulatory and protective effects against the immunotoxicity induced by TCDD in rats [195]; antioxidant activity against TCDD-induced oxidative stress in rats liver [196]; neuroprotective after global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-mediated oxidative and neuronal damage in mouse [197] Gastroprotective effect against various ulcerogenic agents [198] Analgesic activity reviewed [199] Review on metabolism and toxicity [200] Z. clinopodioides subsp. rigida (0.2%) [21] Z. clinopodioides subsp.…”