LC-MS Analysis and Antifungal Activity of <i>Turnera subulata</i> Sm.

Fungi of the <i>Candida</i> genus are responsible for invasive candidiasis, which affects people all over the world and has high mortality rates. This is due to their virulence factors, which give them great resistance and pathogenicity. In addition, the emergence of multidrug-resistant...

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Main Authors: Jacqueline Cosmo Andrade-Pinheiro, Celestina Elba Sobral de Souza, Daiany Alves Ribeiro, Andressa de Alencar Silva, Viviane Bezerra da Silva, Antonia Thassya Lucas dos Santos, Victor Juno Alencar Fonseca, Delmacia Gonçalves de Macêdo, Rafael Pereira da Cruz, José Weverton Almeida-Bezerra, Antonio Júdson Targino Machado, Thiago Sampaio de Freitas, Edy Sousa de Brito, Paulo Riceli Vasconcelos Ribeiro, José Galberto Martins da Costa, Henrique Douglas Melo Coutinho, Grażyna Kowalska, Rafał Rowiński, Radosław Kowalski, Maria Flaviana Bezerra Morais-Braga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-01-01
Series:Plants
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/2/415
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Summary:Fungi of the <i>Candida</i> genus are responsible for invasive candidiasis, which affects people all over the world and has high mortality rates. This is due to their virulence factors, which give them great resistance and pathogenicity. In addition, the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains makes it difficult to treat these infections. In this way, natural products have emerged as an alternative to standard drugs, where plants known for their medicinal properties such as <i>Turnera subulata</i> become attractive to research. The present work aimed to analyze the ethanol extract of <i>Turnera subulata</i> leaves against standard strains of <i>Candida albicans</i>, <i>Candida krusei</i> and <i>Candida tropicalis</i> using broth microdilution techniques. The identification of the compounds in <i>T. subulata</i> leaves by LC-MS revealed the presence of a wide variety of substances such as carboxylic acids and terpenes, with flavonoids and fatty acids being more evident. The antifungal assays showed that the extract was not able to inhibit the growth of the tested strains at concentrations with a clinical relevance. However, at higher concentrations, it was able to inhibit the fungal dimorphism of <i>C. albicans</i> and <i>C. tropicalis</i>. It is possible that the <i>T. subulata</i> extract has potential as an inhibitor of fungal virulence factors without affecting the cell viability. Further research should be carried out in order to assess its inhibitory potential for other fungal virulence factors.
ISSN:2223-7747