1,721,004 research outputs found
Attività antifungina e antibiofilm dell’olio essenziale di Origanum vulgare, del carvacrolo e del timolo in Candida spp.
No full textL’olio essenziale di Origanum vulgare e due principi attivi che lo caratterizzano, il carvacrolo e il timolo, possiedono proprietà antimicotiche e antibiofilm in particolare nei confronti dei funghi appartenenti al genere Candida. Queste interessanti attività potrebbero essere utilizzate come coadiuvante e/o in alternativa alle convezionali terapie farmacologiche
Antioxidant, antifungal, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic activities of Mentha spp. essential oils
Full text linkSince ancient times, plants have been used to preserve food, or for their health properties. Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile compounds that are obtained from botanical material, specifically from aromatic plants. Lamiaceae is one of the most important families in the production of essential oils, as it has both antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The essential oils of Mentha (the Lamiaceae family) have been extensively studied for their biological actions. In this review, we report the antioxidant, antifungal, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic properties of Mentha spp. essential oils. The first objective is to provide comprehensive information about the use of essential oils in the treatment of fungal infections, or as antioxidants and integrative anticancer therapy. The second is to explore the evidence supporting its effectiveness in treating diseases without causing any serious adverse reactions
Identification of a Glucan-Associated Enolase as a main cell wall protein of a Candida albicans and an indirect target of lipopeptide antimycotics.
No full textGrowth-subinhibitory nonlytic doses of cilofungin (a lipopeptide antibiotic affecting (1,3)-β-d-glucan synthesis) inhibited the incorporation of 46- to 48-kDa glucan-associated (46K) protein into the growing cell wall of Candida albicans. The purified 46K protein constituent strongly reacted with a monoclonal antibody against enolase, a major cytoplasmic enzyme of the fungus. In addition, two internal fragments of 12- and IS-amino acid residues from a tryptic digest of 46K protein showed 100% identity with amino acids in positions 34–45 and 66–80 of enolase. By immunoelectron microscopy with polyclonal and monoclonal anti-enolase antibodies, the 46K protein was clearly detected in the inner layers of the fungal cell wall. Thus, consistent with the proposed immunogenic and diagnostic roles of enolase in candidiasis, biochemical, immunochemical, and ultrastructural evidence strongly suggest that the cilofungin-susceptible 46K protein is a cell wall-associated form of this enzyme
"In vivo" and "in vitro" antimicrobial activity of Origanum vulgare essential oil and its two phenolic compounds on clinical isolates of Candida spp
No full textA limited therapeutic arsenal is currently available against Candida infections that show high resistance to antifungal agents.
For this reason, there is a great need to prioritize testing therapeutic agents for the treatment of candidiasis. The use of
essential oils and their phytoconstituents has been emphasized as a new therapeutic approach. The cell surface hydrophobicity
(CSH), polysaccharide content, antimicrobial activity of essential oil from Origanum vulgare L. (OVEO), and its two
phenolic compounds carvacrol and thymol were evaluated in four different Candida spp. (Candida albicans and emerging
non-albicans Candida (NAC) species, such as C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, and C. krusei). The results showed the differences
between Candida species; for example, C. tropicalis revealed higher resistance than other strains to different natural molecule
treatments. The ultrastructural variabilities in the biomembranes and cell walls of these Candida spp. might explain the different
biological effects observed after OVEO, carvacrol and thymol treatments. Therefore, to study the biological effects of
these natural compounds on Candida strains, the samples were observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and
scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, the release of cellular materials and their “in vivo” antimicrobial activity
on infected G. mellonella larvae were evaluated. The novelty of this study is the demonstration that exists a close correlation
between both structural architecture of cell walls and biomembranes’ organization with cell fungal responses to essential
oils treatments. Overall, these results suggest practical limits to the predictabilit
Derivatives of Esculentin-1 Peptides as Promising Candidates for Fighting Infections from Escherichia coli O157:H7
Full text linkNew strategies are needed to fight the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria caused by an overuse of antibiotics in medical and veterinary fields. Due to the importance of biofilms in clinical infections, antibiofilm peptides have a great potential to treat infections. In recent years, an increased interest has emerged in antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). One of the richest sources of AMPs is represented by amphibian skin. In the present work, we investigated the effects of two peptides derived from the frog skin AMP esculentin-1, namely, Esc(1-21) and Esc(1-18), on the growth, biofilm formation, and gene expression of the non-pathogenic Escherichia coli strain K12 and of enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7. Both peptides showed minimal bactericidal concentrations ranging from 4 to 8 µM for Esc(1-21) and from 32 to 64 µM for Esc(1-18). They also, at sub-MIC doses, reduced the formation of biofilm, as supported by both microbiological assays and scanning electron microscopy, while they displayed no marked activity against the planktonic form of the bacteria. Transcriptional analysis in E. coli O157:H7 showed that both AMPs induced the expression of several genes involved in the regulation of formation and dispersal of biofilm, as well as in the stress response. In conclusion, we demonstrated that these AMPs affect E. coli O157:H7 growth and biofilm formation, thus suggesting a great potential to be developed as novel therapeutics against infections caused by bacterial biofilms
Efficiency of liposomes in the delivery of a photosensitizer controlled by the stereochemistry of a gemini surfactant component
No full textLiposomes formulated with dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-phosphatidylcholine, DMPC, and either one of the cationic gemini surfactants (S,S)-2,3-dimethoxy-1,4- bis(N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)butane bromide, 1a, and (S,R)-2,3-dimethoxy- 1,4-bis(N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)butane bromide, 1b, were investigated as vehicles of the photosensitizer m-tetrahydroxyphenylchlorin, m-THPC, to cell models of malignant glioma. The delivery efficiency of DMPC/1a and DMPC/1b liposome formulations were evaluated on the murine glioblastoma cell line C6 and on the human glioblastoma cell line LN229 by flow cytometry and laser scanning confocal microscopy. The stereochemistry of the spacer of the gemini was found to strongly influence the delivery efficiency of m-THPC to cells, the mode of interaction with the cell membrane, and the intracellular distribution of m-THPC. The physicochemical features of liposomes were investigated with the aim of explaining the parameters that control their biological features. Differences that could account for the different biological activity of the formulations concern the values of surface potential and the environment of m-THPC at the water/liposome interface. © 2010 American Chemical Society
Sinergismo tra l'olio essenziale di Mentha suaveolens ed i farmaci antimicrobici
No full textL’olio essenziale di Mentha suaveolens possiede proprietà antimicotiche e antivirali, in particolare nei confronti del fungo opportunista Candida albicans e del virus Herpes simplex, che possono essere sfruttate in sinergia con i comuni farmaci convenzionali
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Characterization of naproxen-polymer conjugates for drug-delivery
No full textThe synthesis and the characterization of three new naproxen decorated polymers are described. A versatile and general approach is employed to link the drug to polymers, affording the derivatives with a very high degree of purity. The release of the drug from the conjugates proved to be exceptionally slow, even in acidic aqueous media, and the kinetic of the process seems to be triggered by their solubility in water. On the other hand, the interesting outcome of the first ex vivo drug release experiments on human blood samples makes this preliminary study valuable for future investigations on the use of these polymeric prodrugs in in vivo treatment of inflammatory states
- …
