Evaluation of the antifungal activity and cytotoxicity of a plant extracts-itraconazole mixture using Caenorhabditis elegans infection model

CORDISCO ESTEFANÍA; VRANYCH CECILIA; HERNANDEZ CRAVERO BRUNO; DE MENDOZA DIEGO; SORTINO MAXIMILIANO; SVETAZ LAURA A.

Rosario

Encuentro; 2nd Latin American Worm Meeting; 2020

Instituto de Biología Molecular Rosario

Candidiasis is the most common opportunistic yeast infection, which usually affects the skin and/or the mucous membranes as well as systemic infections, in immunocompromised patients.1Treatment is challenging, as the number of antifungals is limited and more problems include host toxicity, low spectrum of action and development of resistance. We have identified a ternary mixture composed of plant extracts of Scoparia dulcis (Sd) and Zuccagnia punctata (Zp) and Itraconazole (ITZ), with an optimal in vitro antifungal activity against Candida albicans. The objective of this work was to use Caenorhabditis elegans as an in vivo model to evaluate the efficacy of this mixture. To investigate the effects of the mixture on the virulence of C. albicans, the nematodes were first infected with the fungus.2After infection, the nematodes were treated with the mixture and the percentage of survivors was determined in comparison to the control without treatment. It was observed that after four days all control infected nematodes die and that 87% of infected nematodes that were treated with the mixture survive. Cytotoxicity was also analyzed by incubating uninfected nematodes with the mixture. It was observed that 93.33% of the nematodes survived, indicating that the mixture was not toxic. C. elegans proved to be a powerful tool for the study of antifungal activity and cytotoxicity. The antifungal mixture obtained could be an interesting alternative for candidiasis treatments, significantly reducing inconvenience for the host.