Antifungal and Antivirulence Activities of Hydroalcoholic Extract and Fractions of Platonia insignis Leaves against Vaginal Isolates of Candida Species

Abstract

Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a common fungal infection in women. In this study, Platonia insignis hydroalcoholic extract (PiHE) and its fractions were evaluated for antifungal and antivirulence activities against vaginal Candida species. Dichloromethane (DCMF) and ethyl acetate fractions (EAF) obtained from PiHE effectively inhibited the pathogen. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was used for identifying the main compounds in extracts. Minimal inhibitory and fungicidal concentrations (MIC and MFC, respectively) were determined by a broth microdilution assay. Furthermore, we evaluated the effect of the extract and fractions on the virulence properties of Candida albicans, and their cytotoxicity effect was determined on RAW 264.7 cells. Compounds found in extracts were flavonoid glycosides, mainly derivatives of quercetin and myricetin. Extracts showed antifungal potential, with the lowest MIC value for EAF (1.3 mg/mL) and inhibited Candida adherence and biofilm formation. EAF disrupted 48 h biofilms with an inhibition rate of more than 90%. The extract and its fractions exhibited no cytotoxicity. The antifungal effects were attributed to the ability of these extracts to alter the mitochondrial membrane potential for the release of pro-apoptotic factors in the cytosol. In conclusion, our data suggest that PiHE and EAF could act as novel candidates for the development of new therapeutic treatments against fungal infections.

Virulence Factors as Promoters of Chronic Vulvovaginal Candidosis: A Review

“…Hydroalcohoolic extracts of Platonia insignis and fractions of it (fraction of dicloromethan and ethyl acetate) were studied by da Silva et al by determining the MIC of these extract and its fractions, their effect on the virulence factors expression and also their cytotoxity in macrophage cells cultures. They found positive results in low concentration, revealing good therapeutic capacities for treatment of VVC [134].…”

Berberina, curcumina y quercetina como potenciales agentes con capacidad antiparasitaria

“…En este contexto, este estudio mostró que moléculas que no pertenecen a la familia de los alcaloides presentan buena actividad biológica en contra de E. histolytica, T. vaginalis y S. venezuelensis a dosis relativamente bajas (IC 50 con IC 50 55.3, 40.6 y 13.7 μM respectivamente) como es el caso de curcumina un conocido antioxidante. A diferencia de Ber con esta molécula no existen muchos estudios de su actividad contra parásitos, se conocen más algunos efectos sobre ciertos microorganismos y hongos (Aquino et al, 2016;da Silva et al, 2020).…”

The Anti-Virulence Effect of Vismia guianensis against Candida albicans and Candida glabrata

“…The flow rate was 1 mL/min. The data were processed using the LC Solution software (Shimadzu) [ 36 ].…”