Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is emerging as a simple and eco-friendly alternative to conventional chemical synthesis methods. The role of AgNPs is expanding as antimicrobial and ...anticancer agents, sensors, nanoelectronic devices, and imaging contrast agents. In this study, biogenic AgNPs were synthesized using extracts of different marine algae species, including Ulva rigida (green alga), Cystoseira myrica (brown alga), and Gracilaria foliifera (red alga), as reducing and capping agents. The Physiochemical properties, cytotoxicity, anticancer and antimicrobial activities of the biosynthesized AgNPs were assessed. Surface plasmonic bands of the biosynthesized AgNPs capped with U. rigida, C. myrica, and G. foliifera extracts were visually observed to determine a colour change, and their peaks were observed at 424 nm, 409 nm, and 415 nm, respectively, by UV-Vis spectroscopy; transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated an almost spherical shape of AgNPs with nanoscale sizes of 12 nm, 17 nm, and 24 nm, respectively. Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis suggested that different molecules attached to AgNPs through OH, C=O, and amide groups. The major constituents of the aqueous algal extracts included, terpenoids, polyphenols, sulfonates, polysaccharides, fatty acids, chlorophylls, amide proteins, flavonoids, carotenoids, aliphatic fluoro compounds, volatile compounds, alkalines, pyruvic acid and agar groups. The cytotoxicity and anticancer activities of the biosynthesized AgNPs were assessed using Artemia salina nauplii, normal skin cell lines (HFb-4), and breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 cell line). The lethality was found to be directly proportional to the AgNP concentration. The IC
values of C. myrica and G. foliifera AgNPs against A. saline nauplii were 5 and 10 μg ml
after 4 h and 16 h, respectively, whereas U. rigida AgNPs did not exhibit cytotoxic effects. Anticancer activity of the biosynthesized AgNPs was dose dependent. The IC
values of the biosynthesized AgNPs were 13, 13, and 43 µg ml
for U. rigida, C. myrica, and G. foliifera, respectively. U. rigida AgNPs particularly exhibited potent anticancer activity (92.62%) against a human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7) with high selectivity compared the normal cells (IC
= 13 µg/ml, SI = 3.2), followed by C. myrica AgNPs (IC
= 13 µg/ml, SI = 3.07). Furthermore, the biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited strong antifungal activity against dermatophyte pathogenic moulds and mild antibacterial activity against the food borne pathogen bacteria. The highest antimicrobial activity was recorded for the U. rigida AgNPs, followed by those capped with C. myrica and G. foliifera extracts, respectively. AgNPs capped with the U. rigida extract exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity against Trichophyton mantigrophytes (40 mm), followed by Trichosporon cataneum (30 mm) and E. coli (19 mm), with minimal lethal concentration of 32 and 64 μg ml
respectively. The study finally revealed that extracts of marine algal species, particularly U. rigida extracts, could be effectively used as reducing agents for the green synthesis of AgNPs. These AgNPs are considered efficient alternative antidermatophytes for skin infections and anticancer agents against the MCF-7 cell line.
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•Ultrasound-assisted extracted anthraquinones from rhubarb water extract residues.•Box-Behnken Design was used to optimize the extraction condition.•Rhein presented the significant ...antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea.•The possible mode of action of rhein against B. cinerea was explained.•R. palmatum water extract residues could be used as a renewable source.
Previously studies found that Rheum palmatum L. water extract residues contains the abundant five anthraquinones, and could be used as a renewable source to enrich active compounds for industrial uses. In this paper, we found that the ultrasound- assisted extraction method could be used to enrich five anthraquinones from R. palmatum water extract residues; in addition, the extraction yields of this method were better than those of conventional extraction methods. Among of five anthraquinones, rhein had the strongest antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea with an EC50 value of 8.28 μg/mL; it has marked preventative efficacy in vivo. RNA-Seq analysis and further studies showed that rhein significantly destroyed mitochondrial structure and functions, inhibited the tricarboxylic acid cycle and then blocked energy production to kill B. cinerea mycelia. This study laid the foundation for the further development of R. palmatum residues as a renewable source for anthraquinones extracted using the ultrasound-assisted extraction method, and rhein could be used as an alternative, environmentally friendly biofungicide.
Plant-based essential oils (EOs) possess versatile antimicrobial effects, and these render EOs a potent, sustainable antimicrobial candidate for postharvest loss control. In this study, generally ...recognized as safe EOs of lavender, rosewood, dill weed and fennel were investigated with the benchmark thyme red EO, for their antifungal activity against six peach spoilage fungi. We further determined their chemical compositions, as well as monitored the effect of the EOs in the physical parameters of peaches during the storage period. Most EOs exhibited antifungal activity in the solid phase against the peach spoilage fungi, while some EOs failed to do so in the vapour phase. Rosewood (RO), thyme red (TR) and fennel (FO) EOs could inhibit mycelia growth and spore germination in a dose-dependent manner. GC-MS analysis indicated that the dominant compounds for TR, RO and FO were thymol (53.03%), linalool (77.09%) and trans-anethole (82.35%), respectively. The storage tests indicated that the peach treated with RO in the vapour phase exhibited a reduced decay and maintained weight loss and total soluble solids at the room and refrigerator temperatures. Moreover, the Mucor nidicola-infected peaches treated with RO exhibited significantly smaller lesion diameters and lower disease incidence relative to that by the control peaches.
•The essential oils exhibited antifungal activity in solid and vapour phase.•The chemical compositions of the essential oils were determined by using GC-MS.•The essential oils-treated peach showed a reduced decay.•The infected peach treated with the essential oil showed lower disease incidence.•The rosewood essential oil serves as a good candidate for fungal control.
Purpose. Development of QSAR models and investigation of their effectiveness for predicting the antifungal activity of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and ...Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Materials and methods. Experimental data on the antifungal activity of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Trichophyton mentagrophytes were used for scientific research. The data were analyzed using QSAR models based on molecular descriptors automatically generated from structural formulas of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives. Results. New QSAR models for predicting antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Trichophyton mentagrophytes based on six physico-chemical parameters of chemicals (eeig11r, eeig09x, r6m+, belm2, eeig12r) are presented. During the comparative analysis of the developed QSAR models, a model was identified that has the best statistical parameters and does not have multicollinearity: MAE=0.136; MAPE=12.55; forecast accuracy=87.45%; MSE=0.028; RMSE=0.167. Among the six factors, the most significant ones were identified. Conclusion. As a result of the conducted studies, QSAR models for predicting the antifungal activity of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives against Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Trichophyton mentagrophytes were identified and analyzed. From one to six molecular descriptors were taken as factors in the models. The factors that make the greatest contribution to the prediction of antifungal activity were evaluated. The best models are selected based on the calculated statistical parameters.
The Puroindoline A (PINA) from soft wheat endosperm is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial protein. Herein, we investigated the action of the PINA protein on Aspergillus flavus mycelia growth, conidia and ...sclerotia development, and its ability to control pathogenicity in infected crop seeds. The PINA protein strongly inhibited spore germination, mycelia growth, and conidia and sclerotia formation at 128 μg/mL. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy revealed altered mycelia morphology, mycelia were dented, shrivelled and holes were observed, suggesting that the cell wall and membrane were damaged, and this was confirmed by calcofluor white fluorescent probe assays and propidium iodide staining. Additionally, there were significant changes in mycelia intramembranous structure based on 5,5′,6,6′-tetrachloro-1,1′,3,3′-tetraethylbenzimidazolocarbocyanine iodide and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining, which indicates decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, excessive nuclear condensation, and DNA fragmentation. These results demonstrated that the defects of A. flavus pathogenicity in peanut and corn appeared to be related to cell wall and membrane destruction, which may trigger mitochondrial and DNA damage, leading to cell death. These findings provide visual evidence that the PINA protein inhibits A. flavus pathogenicity, and may assist food preservation applications in future.
•PINA protein had a strong inhibitory effect on the growth of Aspergillus flavus.•PINA protein destroyed cell wall, membrane, nuclear, and mitochondria of A. flavus.•PINA protein reduced the pathogenicity of A. flavus infection in peanut and corn.
Amphotericin B has long been regarded as the gold standard for treating invasive fungal infections despite its toxic potential. The main objective of this research was to develop a novel IONPs@CS-AmB ...formulation in a cost-effective manner in order to enhance AmB delivery performance, with lowering the drug's dose and adverse effects. The chitosan-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs@CS) were synthesized afterward, AmB-loaded IONPs@CS (IONPs@CS-AmB) prepared and characterized by AFM, FT-IR, SEM, EDX, and XRD. Biological activity of the synthesized NPs determined and the cytotoxicity of IONPs@CS-AmB evaluated using the MTT and in vitro hemolysis tests. The IONPs@CS-AmB was synthesized using the coprecipitation method with core-shell structure in size range of 27.70 to ∼70 nm. The FT-IR, XRD and EDX pattern confirmed the successful synthesis of IONPs @CS-AmB. The IONPs@CS-AmB exhibited significant antifungal activity and inhibited the metabolic activity of Candida albicans biofilms. The hemolysis and MTT assays showed that IONPs@CS-AmB is biocompatible with high cell viability when compared to plain AmB and fungizone. The IONPs@CS-AmB is more effective, less toxic and may be a suitable alternative to conventional drug delivery. IONPs@CS-AmB may be a viable candidate for use as a microbial-resistant coating on the surfaces of biomedical devices.
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•IONPs@CS-AmB showed significant activity against fungal strains.•Fluorescent microscopy revealed that IONPs@CS-AmB inhibited biofilm formation.•The hemolysis and MTT assays indicated that IONPs@CS-AmB are biocompatible.
The rapid emergence of invasive infections caused by azole-resistant
has become a public health concern, and there is an urgent need for alternative treatment strategies. Studies have demonstrated ...the antibacterial effects of nisin, a well-known peptide naturally produced by
subsp.
. However, there is scant information about the antifungal effect of nisin against
. The present study aims to investigate the
antifungal activity of nisin against clinical isolates of azole-resistant
strains, as well as its inhibitory effect on biofilm formation. A total of 35
strains isolated from patients with invasive fungal infections were divided into the azole-resistant group and the azole-sensitive group, containing 21 and 14 strains, respectively. The relative expression levels of the
and
genes in the azole-resistant group were higher than those in the azole-sensitive group (
< 0.0001), while no significant differences were observed in the expression levels of the
and
genes. The minimum inhibitory concentration of nisin against
ranged from 2 to 8 μg/mL. Nisin treatment inhibited the growth of azole-resistant
with over a four-fold reduction in OD
values observed at the 8-h time point, while it promoted the transition of
from the spore phase to the hyphal phase, as observed on cryo-scanning electron microscopy. The results of biofilm quantification using crystal violet staining indicated a significant decrease in OD
values in the nisin-treated group compared to the controls (
< 0.0001). Among the 21 azole-resistant
strains, the biofilm formation was inhibited in 17 strains (17/21, 81%), and more than 85% inhibition of biofilm formation was observed in the representative strains. With regard to the molecular mechanisms, the expression of the
and
genes in the azole-resistant strains was down-regulated on nisin treatment (
< 0.05). In conclusion, we demonstrated, for the first time, that nisin has antifungal activity and significant anti-biofilm activity against clinical isolates of azole-resistant
strains. Based on the findings, nisin could be a promising alternative antifungal agent for combating azole-resistant
infections.
An endophytic fungus, Phoma sp. NG-25, produces a set of structurally related polyketides including cercosporamide, phomodione, and usnic acid, among which, cercosporamide has been reported to have ...strong antifungal and anticancer activities. In this study, Phoma sp. NG-25 was grown in seven growth media to determine the optimal culture condition conducive for cercosporamide production. Cercosporamide production peaked on the eighteenth day of incubation in beef peptone dextrose (BPD) broth media. The cercosporamide titer reached to an average of 77.5 µg/mL in BPD. Paper disk diffusion assay revealed that culture filtrate containing cercosporamide as a major constituent inhibited the growth of taxonomically diverse plant pathogens, including ascomycetous, basidiomycetous, and oomycete fungi. Cercosporamide exhibited strong antifungal activities against two pepper anthracnose pathogens, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and C. scovillei with EC50 values of 3.8 and 7.0 µg/mL, respectively. This study suggests the potential application of cercosporamide as an effective antifungal agent in controlling anthracnose in pepper.
Baked food is one of the most important staple foods in people's life, but its shelf life is limited. In addition, the spoilage of baked food caused by microbial deterioration will not only cause ...huge economic losses, but also pose a serious threat to human health. At present, due to the improvement of consumers' health awareness, the use of chemical preservatives has been gradually restricted. Compared with other types of synthetic preservatives, essential oils are becoming more and more popular because they are in line with the current development trend of "green," "safety" and "health" of food additives. Therefore, in this paper, we first summarized the main factors affecting the fungal contamination of baked food. Then analyzed the antifungal activity and mechanism of essential oil. Finally, we comprehensively summarized the application strategy of essential oil in the preservation of baked food. This review is of great significance for fully understanding the antifungal mechanism of essential oils and promoting the application of essential oils in the preservation of baked food.
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