The ROLE OF HERBAL ANTIFUNGAL AGENTS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF FUNGAL DISEASES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Nowadays, fungal infection of skin is one of the most common dermatological problems worldwide. It has been investigated that 40 million people suffer from fungal infections. Superficial and subcutaneous fungal infections affect the skin, keratinous tissues, and mucous membranes. The dermatophytic infections, superficial candidiasis of the mouth, skin, or genital tract and infections due to Malassezia, such as pityriasis versicolor and Malassezia folliculitis are the main afflicting conditions. Systemic fungal infections may be caused by either an opportunistic organism that infects an at-risk host or may be associated with a more invasive organism or may be endemic to a specific geographical area. The most frequently encountered pathogens are Candida albicans and Aspergillus spp. but other fungi such as non-albicans Candida spp. are increasingly important in causing systemic fungal infections. There are numerous antifungal agents used clinically to treat fungal infections, i.e., azoles, allylamines, echinocandins, griseofulvin, and flucytosine. The course to modern treatment has not been without its problems and complications, particularly the drug resistances. Phytochemistry of various plant species has indicated that the phytochemicals could be a better source of medicine as compared to synthetically produced drugs. Natural medicines from a plant origin are still used as therapeutic agents, especially for treating bacterial, fungal, viral, protozoal, helminthic infections, etc. This review focuses on the use of plant constituents to prevent fungal infections caused by various pathogens. Hence, it will be proved beneficial for the drug industries.

Interaction of Pteridophytic Bioactive Compounds With Fungal Dihydrofolate Reductase Enzyme as Inhibitor

“…Development of resistance and relapse of disease are the major drawback of antifungal drugs. Therefore, there is a requirement to discover new antifungal therapies derived from plant sources having lesser side effects than conventional synthetic medicines [7]. In the current study, many Himalayan pteridophytes have been reported to have various bioactive molecules with appreciable antifungal activity [8,9].…”

Fungal Infections Associated With Covid-19

“…Fungi exist in two forms that are yeast and molds, former is typically a single, small and oval structure, whereas the latter consists of filamentous strands called hyphae. Fungi responsible for diseasecausing in healthy individuals are considered as a true pathogen, while those who develop the disease in immune-suppressed individuals are referred to as opportunistic pathogens, which mainly involve species of Mucor, Candida, Aspergillus, and Cryptococcus [2]. These four opportunistic fungal pathogens are reported to cause infections in covid-19 patients too [3].…”

Survey of Expression of Aflatoxin Production Regulator Genes (AflR and Nor1) in Aspergillus parasiticus by Euphorbia connata Bioss. and Pimpinella Anisum L.

“…parasiticus might be controlled by gene suppression. Screening of different medicinal potentials of herbals and natural products is one the enormous interest of scientists to discover new and novel lead compounds that they can solve new health problems such as fungi-toxigenic and so on all over the world [11]. This study is intended to screen two different plants from two families: E. connata and P. anisum.…”