Cinnamomum zeylanicum bark essential oil induces cell wall remodelling and spindle defects in Candida albicans

Abstract

BackgroundCinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) bark extract exhibits potent inhibitory activity against Candida albicans but the antifungal mechanisms of this essential oil remain largely unexplored.ResultsWe analyzed the impact of cinnamon bark oil on C. albicans RSY150, and clinical strains isolated from patients with candidemia and candidiasis. The viability of RSY150 was significantly compromised in a dose dependent manner when exposed to cinnamon bark oil, with extensive cell surface remodelling at sub inhibitory levels (62.5 μg/mL). Atomic force microscopy revealed cell surface exfoliation, altered ultrastructure and reduced cell wall integrity for both RSY150 and clinical isolates exposed to cinnamon bark oil. Cell wall damage induced by cinnamon bark oil was confirmed by exposure to stressors and the sensitivity of cell wall mutants involved in cell wall organization, biogenesis, and morphogenesis. The essential oil triggered cell cycle arrest by disrupting beta tubulin distribution, which led to mitotic spindle defects, ultimately compromising the cell membrane and allowing leakage of cellular components. The multiple targets of cinnamon bark oil can be attributed to its components, including cinnamaldehyde (74%), and minor components (< 6%) such as linalool (3.9%), cinamyl acetate (3.8%), α-caryophyllene (5.3%) and limonene (2%). Complete inhibition of the mitotic spindle assembly was observed in C. albicans treated with cinnamaldehyde at MIC (112 μg/mL).ConclusionsSince cinnamaldehyde disrupts both the cell wall and tubulin polymerization, it may serve as an effective antifungal, either by chemical modification to improve its specificity and efficacy or in combination with other antifungal drugs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40694-018-0046-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Rapid bactericidal effect of cinnamon bark essential oil againstPseudomonas aeruginosa

“…In contrast, the major component of the cinnamon bark EO used in this study was Σ‐cinnamaldehyde at 85·3% of the total composition. The high levels of this component in the bark EO has been demonstrated in other studies (Paranagama et al ; Jayawardena and Smith ; Shahina et al ). This contrasting composition of the two oils provides an explanation of their different antimicrobial effects, and it has been shown that cinnamaldehyde has a superior antimicrobial effect when compared to eugenol (López et al ; Sanla‐Ead et al ; Brnawi et al ).…”

In vitro antifungal activity of Cinnamomum zeylanicum bark and leaf essential oils against Candida albicans and Candida auris

“…This activity, in part, can be due to lipophilic properties of these compounds for their partition into the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane (Knobloch et al 1989), leading to the disruption of the structure of different membrane layers and subsequently permeability. Another study by Shahina et al (2018) using utilizing atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging, laser scanning confocal Microscopy (LSCM) imaging and Congo red staining techniques, demonstrated cell surface exfoliation, altered ultrastructure, delayed cell cycle and reduced cell wall integrity in C. albicans cells following exposure to CBEO. In their study, the findings suggested that not only cinnamaldehyde possess the ability to compromise cell membrane and wall integrity but also minor components of CBEO such as limonene, eugenyl acetate, linalool and benzyl benzoate contribute to CBEO antifungal activity by other routes of impact such as introducing spindle defect or arresting cell cycle in the anaphase.…”

Biological activity of phytoconstituents isolated from Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Punica granatum

“…Effect of C and extracts on . zeylanicum P.granatum cell line functional properties like anti helminthic, antifungal activity and curative effect (Rakhshandehroo et al, 2016;Shahina et al, 2018;Orhan et al, 2007). Phenolic compounds which are present in plants are responsible for a variety of pharmacological activity (Kumar and Pandey, 2013).…”