In vitro antibacterial activity of some aliphatic aldehydes from Olea europaea L

In the present paper we report the 'in vitro' activity of eight aliphatic long-chain aldehydes from olive flavor (hexanal, nonanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-eptenal, (E)-2-octenal, (E)-2-nonenal, (E)-2-decenal and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal) against a number of standard and freshly isolated bacterial strains that may be causal agents of human intestinal and respiratory tract infections. The saturated aldehydes characterized in the present study do not exhibit significant antibacterial activity, while the alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes have a broad antimicrobial spectrum and show similar activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. The effectiveness of the aldehydes under investigation seems to depend not only on the presence of the alpha,beta-double bond, but also on the chain length from the enal group and on the microorganism tested.     

In vitro activity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium chrysogenum</Emphasis> antifungal protein (PAF) and its combination with fluconazole against different dermatophytes

Strains of five dermatophyte species (Microsporum canis, Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton tonsurans) were selected for testing against Penicillium chrysogenum antifungal protein (PAF) and its combination with fluconazole (FCZ). Inhibition of microconidia germination and growth was detected with MICs of PAF ranging from 1.56 to 200 mug ml(-1) when it was used alone, or at constant concentration (100 mug ml(-1)) in combination with FCZ at from 0.25 to 32 mug ml(-1). The MICs for FCZ were found to be between 0.25 and 128 mug ml(-1). PAF caused a fungicidal effect at 200 mug ml(-1) and reduced growth at between 50 and 200 mug ml(-1). Total growth inhibition with fungistatic activity was detected at 64 mug ml(-1) of FCZ for M. gypseum, T. mentagrophytes, and T. tonsurans, and at 32 mug ml(-1) FCZ for M. canis and T. rubrum. PAF and FCZ acted synergistically and/or additively on all of the tested fungi except M. gypseum, where no interactions were detected.     

Thionin Thi2.1 from Arabidopsis thaliana expressed in endothelial cells shows antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activity

Thionins are plant antimicrobial peptides with antibacterial and antifungal activities. Thionin Thi2.1 cDNA from Arabidopsis thaliana was expressed in BVE-E6E7 bovine endothelial cell line and its activity was evaluated against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and different mammal cell lines. Total protein (2.5 mug) from conditioned medium (CM) of clone EC-Thi2.1 inhibited the growth of E. coli, S. aureus (>90%) and C. albicans strains (>80%) in relation to the CM from control cells. Also, CM of EC-Thi2.1 inhibited the viability of several transformed and normal mammal cell lines (38-95%). These results suggest that thionin Thi2.1 is an antimicrobial peptide that could be use in the treatment of mammalian infectious diseases.     

Synthesis and evaluation of N-alkyl-beta-D-glucosylamines on the growth of two wood fungi, Coriolus versicolor and Poria placenta

Various glucosylamines were synthesized from glucose and different alkyl amine compounds. These amino compounds are beta-d-glucopyranosylamine (GPA), N-ethyl-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine (EtGPA), N-butyl-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine (BuGPA), N-hexyl-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine (HeGPA), N-octyl-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine (OcGPA), N-dodecyl-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine (DoGPA), N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine (HEtGPA) and N,N-di(2-hydroxyethyl)-beta-d-glucopyranosylamine (DHEtGPA). They were tested for their antifungal activity against the growth of Coriolus versicolor and Poria placenta. An improvement of the antifungal activity with the increase of alkyl chain length was observed. DoGPA exhibited the best antifungal activity against both strains. It completely inhibited the fungal growth at 0.01x10(-3)molmL(-1) and 0.0075x10(-3)molmL(-1) for C. versicolor and P. placenta, respectively. For other glucosylamines higher concentrations were needed for complete inhibition of fungi.     

Antimicrobial activity of Hyptis ovalifolia towards dermatophytes

The essential oil and the aqueous, hexane and methanolic fractions from Hyptis ovalifolia leaves were evaluated for their antifungal activity in vitro against 60 strains of dermatophytes: 10 strains of Microsporum canis, 10 of M. gypseum, 20 of Trichophyton rubrum and 20 of T. mentagrophytes. The extracts inhibited growth of the dermatophytes tested at different concentrations. The most biologically active was the essential oil from the leaves which inhibited 57 isolates (95%) at a concentration of 500 g/ml.     

Antifungal effects of hydrolysable tannins and related compounds on dermatophytes, mould fungi and yeasts

A series of hydrolysable tannins and related compounds was evaluated for antifungal activities against filamentous fungi (Epidermophyton floccosum; Microsporum canis; Microsporum gypseum; Trichophyton mentagrophytes; Trichophyton rubrum; Trichophyton tonsurans; Trichophyton terrestre; Penicillium italicum; Aspergillus fumigatus; Mucor racemosus; Rhizopus nigricans) and opportunistic yeasts (Candida albicans; Candida glabrata; Candidata krusei; Cryptococcus neoformans), using the agar dilution method. While all samples had no activity against the filamentous fungi in concentrations of 1.1-5.9 microM (1000 microg/ml), the phenolic compounds displayed significant potencies against all the opportunistic yeasts tested but C. albicans, with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 0.1 microM (16-125 microg/ml). Although the presence of galloyl groups in flavonoids did not necessarily produce activity, this structural element, an HHDP moiety or its oxidatively modified entity proved to be an important structural feature of hydrolysable tannins. Comparison of dilution methods provided strong evidence of dependence of MIC values on the test method. Employing the microdilution broth method, the ellagitannin corilagin (MIC 0.8 nM) was found to be similarly potentially active as amphotericin B (MIC 0.5 nM) and sertaconazole (MIC 0.9 nM) against Candida glabrata strains. The order of effectiveness observed being 64- and 4-8-fold increased for corilagin and the reference compounds respectively, when compared with that of the agar dilution test.     

Antifungal Activities of Different Extracts of Marine Macroalgae Against Dermatophytes and Candida Species

Algae are bioactive natural resources, and due to the medical importance of superficial mycoses, we focused the action of macroalgae extracts against dermatophytes and Candida species. Seaweed obtained from the Riacho Doce beach, Alagoas (Brazil), were screened for the antifungal activity, through crude extracts using dichloromethane, chloroform, methanol, ethanol, water and chloroform and hexane fractions of green, brown and red algae in assays with standard strains of the dermatophytes Trichophyton rubrum, T. tonsurans, T. mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, M. gypseum and yeasts Candida albicans, C. krusei, C. guilliermondi and C. parapsilosis. The M44-A and M27-A2/M38A manuals by CLSI were followed, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranged from 0.03 to 16.00 μg ml(-1), and an inhibition halo of 10.00-25.00 mm was observed for dermatophytes, while for yeast, it was from 8.00 to 16.00 μg ml(-1) and 10.00-15.00 mm. M. canis showed MIC of 0.03 μg ml(-1) and the largest inhibition halo in T. rubrum (25.00 mm) through the use of the methanol extract. For C. albicans, dichloromethane, methanol and ethanol extracts formed the largest inhibition halo. The ethanol extract was shown to be the best inhibiting fungi growth, and chloroform and hexane fractions of H. musciformis inhibited the growth of all dermatophytes and C. albicans, yielding the conclusion that apolar extracts obtained from algae presented the best activity against important pathogenic fungi.     

Oxovanadium(IV) complexes of hydrazides: potential antifungal agents

Oxovanadium(IV) -derived antifungals have been prepared by condensing equimolar amounts of vanadyl sulfate with hydrazides. All the synthesized ligands and their metal complexes were characterized by IR, UV-Visible and micro analytical data. These synthesized compounds were screened for their antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus), Trichophyton longifusus (T. longifusus), Candida albicans (C. albicans), Microsporum canis (M. canis), Fusarium solani (F. solani) and Candida glaberata (C. glaberata) fungal strains. All complexes showed promising antifungal activity against different fungal strains with the exception of F. Solani and C. glaberata. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of different complexes and ligands are in the range of 250 to 400 microg/mL. Complex 7a and ligand 13 exhibit lowest MIC of 250 microg/mL whereas, complex 5a and ligands 2, 7 and 14 showed highest MIC of 400 microg/mL.     

Antifungal constituents of Northern prickly ash, Zanthoxylum americanum Mill.

Leaf, fruit, stem, bark and root of Zanthoxylum americanum were investigated for antifungal activity with 11 strains of fungi representing diverse opportunistic and systemic pathogens, including Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus. All extracts demonstrated a broad spectrum of antifungal activity and inhibited at least eight fungal species in a disk diffusion assay (600 microg/disk). Antifungal activity was light-dependent, with fruit and leaf extracts most active in general. The presence of light-mediated compounds, such as psoralen, 8-methoxypsoralen and imperatorin in extracts of different organs was confirmed by RP-HPLC. A high furanocoumarin content was detected in fruit and leaf and low furanocoumarin levels were found in bark and wood. A high positive correlation was observed between total furanocoumarin content and fungal inhibition zones (r2=0.902, p<0.001). The results provide a phytochemical basis for the very widespread use of Z. americanum in indigenous North American ethnomedical tradition for conditions that may be related to fungal infections.     

Culture medium alkalinization by dermatophytes

95 dermatophyte strains (12 of Trichophyton mentagrophytes, 12 of T. tonsurans, 11 of T. rubrum, 12 of T. megninii, 12 of T. violaceum, 2 of T. schoenleinii, 1 of T. soudanense, 12 of M. canis, 8 of Microsporum gypseum, 1 of M. ferrugineum and 12 of Epidermphoyton floccosum). 1 of Aspergillus niger, 1 of A. ochraceus, 1 of Paecilomyces sp., 1 of Penicillium sp. and 1 of Candida albicans were grown in Sabouraud liquid medium for the study of pH variation over 6 weeks at room temperature and after 4 weeks at 37 degrees C. All the dermatophyte strains alkalinized the medium. The highest pH values after 2-3 weeks' development in room temperature were produced by T. mentagrophytes, M. gypseum and M. canis, and the lowest by T. rubrum and T. violaceum. After the 4th week the alkalinizing activity became more marked for T. mentagrophytes and remained stationary for T. violaceum, In the 5th week the values produced by T. tonsurans were higher than those for M. gypseum, and those for E. floccosum and T. megninii were higher than those of M. canis. A similar behaviour was observed for T. rubrum and T. megninii and for M. canis, M. gypseum and M. ferrugineum. There seems to be a relation between the alkalinizing capacity and the rapidity and amount of the growth. At 37 degrees C both alkalinization and range of variation of the pH values of the medium became more noticeable for the strains of each species.     

Antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic properties of some sulfonamide-derived chromones

A series of antibacterial and antifungal sulfonamide (sulfanilamide, sulfaguanidine, sulfamethaxozole, 4-aminoethylbenzene-sulfonamide and 4-amino-6-trifluoromethyl-benzene-1,3-disulfonamide) derived chromones, previously reported as inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase, have been screened for in-vitro antibacterial activity against four Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Shigella flexener) and two Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) bacterial strains, and for in-vitro antifungal activity against Trichophyton longifusus, Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Microsporum canis, Fusarium solani, Candida glaberata. All compounds (1)-(5) showed significant antibacterial activity against all four Gram-negative species and both Gram-positive species. However, three of them, (1), (4) and (5), were found to be comparatively much more active compared to (2) and (3). Of these, (5) was found to be the most active one. For antifungal activity, generally compounds (1) and (2) showed significant activity against more than three strains whereas (3)-(5) also showed significant activity against varied fungal strains. In the brine shrimp bioassay for in-vitro cytotoxic properties, only two compounds, (4) and (5) displayed potent cytotoxic activity, LD50 = 2.732 x 10(-4)M) and LD50 = 2.290 x 10(-4)M) respectively, against Artemia salina.     

Evaluation of the toxicity of stress-related aldehydes to photosynthesis in chloroplasts

Aldehydes produced under various environmental stresses can cause cellular injury in plants, but their toxicology in photosynthesis has been scarcely investigated. We here evaluated their effects on photosynthetic reactions in chloroplasts isolated from Spinacia oleracea L. leaves. Aldehydes that are known to stem from lipid peroxides inactivated the CO₂ photoreduction to various extents, while their corresponding alcohols and carboxylic acids did not affect photosynthesis. α,β-Unsaturated aldehydes (2-alkenals) showed greater inactivation than the saturated aliphatic aldehydes. The oxygenated short aldehydes malondialdehyde, methylglyoxal, glycolaldehyde and glyceraldehyde showed only weak toxicity to photosynthesis. Among tested 2-alkenals, 2-propenal (acrolein) was the most toxic, and then followed 4-hydroxy-(E)-2-nonenal and (E)-2-hexenal. While the CO₂-photoreduction was inactivated, envelope intactness and photosynthetic electron transport activity (H₂O → ferredoxin) were only slightly affected. In the acrolein-treated chloroplasts, the Calvin cycle enzymes phosphoribulokinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, fructose-1,6-bisphophatase, sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase, aldolase, and Rubisco were irreversibly inactivated. Acrolein treatment caused a rapid drop of the glutathione pool, prior to the inactivation of photosynthesis. GSH exogenously added to chloroplasts suppressed the acrolein-induced inactivation of photosynthesis, but ascorbic acid did not show such a protective effect. Thus, lipid peroxide-derived 2-alkenals can inhibit photosynthesis by depleting GSH in chloroplasts and then inactivating multiple enzymes in the Calvin cycle.     

Synthesis of organometallic-based biologically active compounds: In vitro antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic properties of some sulfonamide incorporated ferrocences

Sulfonamides incorporated ferrocene (SIF) have been synthesized by the condensation reaction of sulfonamides (sulfanilamide, sulfathiazole or sulfamethaxazole) with 1,1'-diacetylferrocene. The synthesized compounds (SIF(1)-SIF(4)) have been characterized by their physical, spectral and analytical properties and have been screened for their in vitro antibacterial properties against pathogenic bacterial strains e.g., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi and for antifungal activity against Trichophyton longifusus, Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Microsporum canis, Fusarium solani and Candida glaberata using Agar-well diffusion method. Most of the compounds showed good antibacterial activity whereas, all the compounds exhibited significant antifungal activity. Brine shrimp bioassay was also carried out for in vitro cytotoxic properties against Artemia salina.     

In-vitro antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activity of cobalt (II), copper (II), nickel (II) and zinc (II) complexes with furanylmethyl- and thienylmethyl-dithiolenes: [1, 3-dithiole- 2-one and 1,3-dithiole-2-thione

Some antibacterial and antifungal furanylmethyl-and thienylmethyl dithiolenes and, their Co(II), Cu(II), Ni (II) and Zn (II) complexes have been synthesized, characterized and screened for their in vitro antibacterial activity against four Gram-negative; Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Shigella flexeneri, and two Gram-positive; Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains, and for in-vitro antifungal activity against Trichophyton longifusus, Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Microsporum canis, Fusarium solani and Candida glaberata. All compounds showed significant antibacterial and antifungal activity. The metal complexes, however, were shown to possess better activity as compared to the simple ligands. The brine shrimp bioassay was also carried out to study their in-vitro cytotoxic properties.     

In vitro antibacterial, antifungal & cytotoxic activity of some isonicotinoylhydrazide Schiff's bases and their cobalt (II), copper (II), nickel (II) and zinc (II) complexes

Isonicotinoylhydrazide Schiff's bases formed by the reaction of substituted and unsubstituted furyl-2-carboxaldehyde and thiophene-2-carboxaldehyde with isoniazid and, their Co (II), Cu (II), Ni (II) and Zn (II) complexes have been synthesized, characterized and screened for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Bacillus cereus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes bacterial strains and for in vitro antifungal activity against Trichophyton longifusus, Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Microsporum canis, Fusarium solani and Candida glabrata. The results of these studies show the metal complexes to be more antibacterial and antifungal against one or more bacterial/fungal strains as compared to the uncomplexed compounds. The brine shrimp bioassay indicated Schiff's bases, L3 and L6 and, their Cu (II) and Ni (II) metal complexes to be cytotoxic against Artemia salina, while all other compounds were inactive (LD50 > 1000).     

Antifungal effect of silver nanoparticles on dermatophytes

Spherical silver nanoparticles (nano-Ag) were synthesized and their antifungal effects on fungal pathogens of the skin were investigated. Nano-Ag showed potent activity against clinical isolates and ATCC strains of Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Candida species (IC80, 1-7 mug/ml). The activity of nano-Ag was comparable to that of amphotericin B, but superior to that of fluconazole (amphotericin B IC80, 1-5 mug/ml; fluconazole IC80, 10- 30 mug/ml). Additionally, we investigated their effects on the dimorphism of Candida albicans. The results showed nano-Ag exerted activity on the mycelia. Thus, the present study indicates nano-Ag may have considerable antifungal activity, deserving further investigation for clinical applications.     

卡泊芬净、米卡芬净对8种皮肤癣菌体外抑菌活性的研究

目的评价棘白菌素类抗真菌药物卡泊芬净（caspofungin）、米卡芬净（micafungin）针对常见致病性皮肤癣菌的体外抗菌活性。方法参考CLSI制定的M38-A2方案。测定82株常见皮肤癣菌的最低有效浓度（minimal effective concentrations,MECs）。结果按照MEC90浓度从高到低,米卡芬净对紫色毛癣菌和断发毛癣菌的MEC90是0.25μg/mL;对犬小孢子菌、疣状毛癣菌的MEC90为0.06μg/mL;对红色毛癣菌、须癣毛癣菌、石膏小孢子菌、絮状表皮癣菌的MEC90均在0.03μg/mL。②卡泊芬净对红色毛癣菌、紫色毛癣菌和断发毛癣菌的MEC90为1μg/mL;对须癣毛癣菌、犬小孢子菌、石膏小孢子菌、絮状表皮癣菌和疣状毛癣菌的MEC90为0.5μg/mL。③根据中位数检验,米卡芬净对几种皮肤癣菌的MEC值均低于卡泊芬净的MEC值,统计学比较有显著性差异（P〈0.05）。结论米卡芬净和卡泊芬净对皮肤癣菌有较强的抑菌作用,米卡芬净的MEC值低于卡泊芬净。     

In-vitro antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities of some coumarins and their metal complexes

A series of new antibacterial and antifungal coumarin-derived compounds and their transition metal complexes [cobalt (II), copper (II), nickel (II) and zinc (II)] have been synthesized, characterized and screened for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Bacillus cereus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes bacterial strains and for in vitro antifungal activity against Trichophyton longifusus, Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Microsporum canis, Fusarium solani, Candida glaberata. The results of these studies show the metal complexes to be more antibacterial and antifungal as compared to the uncomplexed coumarins. The brine shrimp bioassay was also carried out to study their in vitro cytotoxic properties.     

Study on the mechanisms of the antibacterial action of some plant alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes

AIMS: In this paper the mechanisms involved in the antibacterial effect of six 2E-alkenals [(E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-eptenal, (E)-2-octenal, (E)-2-nonenal, (E)-2-decenal and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal] were investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS: We measured the release of carboxyfluorescein (CF) trapped in liposomes of phosphatidylcholine (PC) following exposure to the aldehydes mentioned above, in comparison with that elicited by hexanal and nonanal; the modifications of the thermotropic behaviour of liposomes of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) induced by (E,E)-2,4-decadienal (the aldehyde endowed with the highest microbicidal activity) were evaluated by means of differential scanning calorimetry. With the exception of hexanal, all aldehydes tested caused rapid CF leakage from PC liposomes. The effectiveness order correlates well with the chain length and the presence of the alpha,beta-double bond. Furthermore (E,E)-2,4-decadienal is able to interact with and cross DMPC bilayers. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that the 2E-alkenals tested elicit, very likely, a gross perturbation of the lipidic fraction of plasmatic membranes and are able to penetrate into bacterial cells. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: These data represent an interesting background for a rational employment of the plant 2E-alkenals tested as antimicrobial agents.     

In Vitro antifungal activity of 2-(4-substituted phenyl)-3(2H)-isothiazolones

The in vitro antifungal activity of several N2-phenyl-3(2H)-isothiazolones substituted at C4 of the phenyl moiety with heterocyclic nucleus or groups of different physico-chemical properties against four human pathogenic fungi was determined by broth macrodilution method; results were compared with those obtained with itraconazole and ketoconazole. These isothiazolones showed moderate to high activity against some or all tested strains and in comparison with the reference drugs, 5-chloro-2-(4-nitrophenyl)isothiazol-3-one (1g), 5-chloro-2-phenylisothiazol-3-one (1c), 4-[4-(5-chloro-3-oxo-3H-isothiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-1,4-dihydrotriazol-5-one (1s) and 2-(4-nitrophenyl)isothiazol-3-one (2g) against Aspergillus niger, 5-chloro-2-(4-nitrophenyl)isothiazol-3-one (1g) and 4-[4-(5-chloro-3-oxo-3H-isothiazol-2-yl)phenyl]piperazine-1-carboxamide (1q) against Trichophyton mentagrophytes had comparable activity, compounds 1g and 2g showing higher activity against Microsporum canis. Antifungal activity was favored by the presence of chlorine at C5 of the isothiazolone and/or the presence of nitro group or heterocyclic nucleus at C4 of the phenyl ring and proper hydrophilicity of the molecule.