Enhancement of the antifungal activity of some antimycotics by farnesol and reduction of Candida albicans pathogenicity in a quail model experiment

Abstract

Background and Aim: Clinical strains of microorganisms, including pathogenic yeast-like fungi (YLF), are resistant to currently used antifungal agents. Thus, it is relevant to study the combinations of existing antimicrobial drugs and a medicinal extract of plant origin (farnesol). In previous studies, farnesol showed a relatively strong anti-biofilm effect against Candida albicans. This study aimed to determine how much the resistance profile of non-biofilm microorganisms can change. Materials and Methods: Six clinical isolates of C. albicans and one reference strain were used to study the interaction of farnesol with the most used antimycotics. To determine the sensitivity of YLF to antimycotic drugs, such as nystatin (50 μg), amphotericin B (10 μg), ketoconazole (10 μg), clotrimazole (10 μg), voriconazole (10 μg), fluconazole (25 μg), miconazole (10 μg), and intraconazole (10 μg), the classic disk diffusion method was used. In the second stage, one of the six strains was used to simulate candidiasis of the gastrointestinal tract in an in vivo quail model. As an unusual experimental design, this study investigated the effects of pretreated C. albicans in quails, not the in vivo pathogenicity of C. albicans, after treatment with farnesol. Results: The resistance profiles of Candida strains did not improve with farnesol in all strains. All concentrations of farnesol (100, 50, and 25 μM) demonstrated a fungistatic effect (i.e., an increase in drug sensitivity) in 23 of 56 (7×8) cases (41%). The remaining 54% demonstrated no changes in the resistance to antifungal drugs or deterioration of the indicators in rare cases (5%). At 100 μM farnesol, sensitivity improved in 33 of 56 cases (59%). Candidiasis or the severity of clinical disease of the quail digestive tract developed to a lesser extent if fungi were treated with farnesol. Conclusion: Farnesol does not always show a positive result on single cells without biofilm in the laboratory. However, in a biofilm or an in vivo model with biofilms, farnesol can be considered a new antimycotic drug or an additive to existing antimycotics.

Anatomical, pathological, and histological features of experimental respiratory infection of birds by biofilm-forming bacteria Staphylococcus aureus

“…The results of our studies showed that biofilm formation involves adhesion, fixation, microcolony formation, growth, and dispersion stages. The main stages of the in vitro development of biofilms of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and yeastlike fungi have been sufficiently studied and covered in detail in the literature [8,[33][34][35]. Effective methods for recording the bacterial mass and volume of the intercellular matrix of monospecies and polyspecies biofilms [32,36] have been developed.…”

In Vitro Activity of Farnesol against Malassezia pachydermatis Isolates from Otitis Externa Cases in Dogs

“…Much research has been devoted to studying the role of Far as an inhibitor of hyphal morphogenesis [ 41 , 43 ]; however, little research has been published regarding the impacts of Far on fungal virulence and the development of M. pachydermatis biofilms.…”

“…The sensitivity of BY M. pachydermatis to antimycotic drugs was investigated using the Kirby–Bauer’s disk diffusion method, exactly as described in our previous study [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. The antimycotics tested were nystatin (NS; 50 µg), amphotericin B (AP; 10 µg), ketoconazole (KT; 10 µg), clotrimazole (CC; 10 µg), voriconazole (VOR; 10 µg), fluconazole (FU; 25 µg), miconazole (MIC; 10 µg), and intraconazole (IT; 10 µg) (HiMedia™ Laboratories Pvt.…”

Assessment of the safety and quality of turkey meat depending on the methods of keeping

“…Currently, a big problem in industrial poultry farming is maintaining a high immune status of poultry to increase the safety of livestock, poultry productivity and, accordingly, the quality of meat. Scientists and practitioners have recently been paying great attention to the quality of poultry meat with the establishment of its important role in the human food chain and in the etiology of a number of serious human diseases [4,5,6].…”