Molecular Detection of Secreted Aspartyl Proteinases (Saps) From Dental Isolates of Candida albicans and Targeting With Psidium guajava Biocompounds: An In Vitro and In Silico Analysis

Abstract

Introduction Candida albicans ( C. albicans ) is an opportunistic yeast-like fungus and is considered a functional biome of the oral and gut microbiomes. The sap gene and its types play a vital role in the pathogenesis of C. albicans . The emergence of resistance traits is a major problem, and targeting the same with alternative medicines has sparked renewed interest in recent years. Objectives This study is thus aimed at detecting the frequency of sap gene types in the clinical isolates of C. albicans and evaluating the antifungal effect of the crude methanolic extract of Psidium guajava ( P. guajava ). Further in silico assessments will assess the inhibitory effect of six compounds of P. guajava against the Sap protein. Materials and methods C. albicans was characterized phenotypically in 20 patients with root caries, and the sap gene was detected by PCR. The crude methanolic extract was prepared, and its antifungal efficacy was evaluated by the agar well diffusion method. Auto-docking was performed to assess the best compound based on the docking and overall interactions. Results Six isolates were identified as C. albicans and sap gene types 1-3 were detected in the four strains. P. guajava methanolic extracts showed a promising antifungal effect at varying concentrations. In silico analysis showed myricetin possessing the maximum number of hydrogen bonds and high docking energy with one violation. Conclusion The study concludes that P. guajava has a promising inhibitory effect against C. albicans with myricetin as the best compound to target the sap gene of C. albicans . However, further experimental studies are to be considered for its effectiveness in treating the infections caused by C. albicans .