Candida albicans Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)-Dependent Lethality and ROS-Independent Hyphal and Biofilm Inhibition by Eugenol and Citral.

Date
2022-11-17
Authors
Shahina, Zinnat
Ndlovu, Easter
Persaud, Omkaar
Sultana, Taranum
Dahms, Tanya E. S.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Abstract

Candida albicans is part of the normal human flora but is most frequently isolated as the causative opportunistic pathogen of candidiasis. Plant-based essential oils and their components have been extensively studied as antimicrobials, but their antimicrobial impacts are poorly understood. Phenylpropenoids and monoterpenes, for example, eugenol from clove and citral from lemon grass, are potent antifungals against a wide range of pathogens. We report the cellular response of C. albicans to eugenol and citral, alone and combined, using biochemical and microscopic assays. The MICs of eugenol and citral were 1,000 and 256 μg/mL, respectively, with the two exhibiting additive effects based on a fractional inhibitory concentration index of 0.83 ± 0.14. High concentrations of eugenol caused membrane damage, oxidative stress, vacuole segregation, microtubule dysfunction and cell cycle arrest at the G1/S phase, and while citral had similar impacts, they were reactive oxygen species (ROS) independent. At sublethal concentrations (1/2 to 1/4 MIC), both oils disrupted microtubules and hyphal and biofilm formation in an ROS-independent manner. While both compounds disrupt the cell membrane, eugenol had a greater impact on membrane dysfunction. This study shows that eugenol and citral can induce vacuole and microtubule dysfunction, along with the inhibition of hyphal and biofilm formation.

Description
Copyright © 2022 Shahina et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
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Citation
Shahina Z., Ndlovu E., Persaud O., Sultana T., Dahms T.E.S.* (2022). Candida albicans Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)-Dependent Lethality and ROS-Independent Hyphal and Biofilm Inhibition by Eugenol and Citral. Microbiol Spectr;10(6):e0318322. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03183-22. PMID: 36394350; PMCID: PMC9769929.
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