ANTAGONISTIC MECHANISM OF ANTI-FUNGAL COMPOUNDS FROM ASPERGILLUS GIGANTEUS ON HUMAN FUNGAL PATHOGENS
AbstractCryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans are the major causative agents for infections, cryptococcosis, and candidiasis in human. Anti-fungal drugs for the treatment of fungal infections may show less effective activity on the pathogens due to the poor absorption or inadequate drug distribution, and some pathogens may evolve anti-fungal drug resistance. The development of anti-fungal drugs from natural sources with potential activity is of main global concern. Some filamentous fungi themselves can secrete anti-fungal compounds, which show effective antagonism against numerous pathogens. One such fungus, Aspergillus giganteus is known to produce anti-fungal proteins (AFP). In this study, the AFP is purified and its antagonistic activity was determined by analyzing its pathogenic membrane disruption ability. Extracellular pH and the lipid level in the AFP treated pathogenic cell membrane were also evaluated. The results have proved the membrane damage and disintegration of the pathogenic cell membrane by AFP and were observed in a dose-time-dependent manner. The fluctuation in the extracellular pH was monitored in the treated pathogens. This study has identified a novel drug from Aspergillus giganteus against fungal pathogens.
Article Information
26
6393-6402
787 KB
455
English
IJPSR
R. Ramya and D. Kavitha *
Department of Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, School of Biosciences, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore - 641043, Tamil Nadu, India.
kavitha_bio@avinuty.ac.in
03 January 2021
03 May 2021
28 May 2021
10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.12(12). ).6393-02
01 December 2021