Exploration of the anticandidal mechanism of Cassia spectabilis in debilitating candidiasis
Candida albicans has become resistant to the commercially available, toxic, and expensive anti-Candida agents that are on the market. These factors force the search for new antifungal agents from natural resources. Cassia spectabilis had been traditionally employed by healers for many generations....
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.usm.my/39076/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26870686 |
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| Institution: | Universiti Sains Malaysia |
| Summary: | Candida albicans has become resistant to the commercially available, toxic, and expensive anti-Candida
agents that are on the market. These factors force the search for new antifungal agents from natural
resources. Cassia spectabilis had been traditionally employed by healers for many generations. The
possible mechanisms of the C. spectabilis leaf extract were determined by potassium leakage study and
the effect of the extract on the constituents of the cell wall and enzymes as well as the morphological
changes on C. albicans cells were studied along with cytotoxicity assays. The cytotoxicity result indicated
that the extract is nontoxic as was clearly substantiated by a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50)
value of 59.10 mg/mL. The treated cells (C. spectabilis extract) demonstrated potassium leakage of 1039
parts per million (ppm) compared to Amphotericin B (AmpB)-treated cells with a released potassium
value of 1115 ppm. The effects of the extract on the cell wall proteins illustrated that there were three
major types of variations in the expression of treated cell wall proteins: the presence of new proteins, the
absence of proteins, and the amount of expressed protein. The activities of two enzymes, a-glucosidase
and proteinase, were determined to be significantly high, thereby not fully coinciding with the properties
of the antifungal reaction triggered by C. spectabilis. The morphology of C. albicans cells treated with the
C. spectabilis extract showed that the cells had abnormalities and were damaged or detached within the
microcolonies. Our study verifies C. spectabilis leaf extract as an effective anti-C. albicans agent. |
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