In Vitro and In Vivo Inhibitory Activity of Limonene against Different Isolates of Candida spp

• Published in: Journal of fungi (Basel) Vol. 6; no. 3; p. 1
• Main Authors: Muñoz, Julián E, Rossi, Diego C P, Jabes, Daniela L, Barbosa, David Aciole, Cunha, Fernanda F M, Nunes, Luiz R, Arruda, Denise C, Pelleschi Taborda, Carlos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-09-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Candida; Candida spp; Candidiasis; Health aspects; intravaginal infection; limonene; treatment; Brazil; Candida spp; limonene; treatment; Candidiasis; intravaginal infection
• ISSN: 2309-608X; 2309-608X
• DOI: 10.3390/jof6030183

Commensal yeast from the genus
is part of the healthy human microbiota. In some cases,
spp. dysbiosis can result in candidiasis, the symptoms of which may vary from mild localized rashes to severe disseminated infections. The most prevalent treatments against candidiasis involve fluconazole, itraconazole, miconazole, and caspofungin. Moreover, amphotericin B associated with prolonged azole administration is utilized to control severe cases. Currently, numerous guidelines recommend echinocandins to treat invasive candidiasis. However, resistance to these antifungal drugs has increased dramatically over recent years. Considering this situation, new therapeutic alternatives should be studied to control candidiasis, which has become a major medical concern. Limonene belongs to the group of terpene molecules, known for their pharmacological properties. In this study, we evaluated in vitro the limonene concentration capable of inhibiting the growth of yeast from the genus
susceptible or resistant to antifungal drugs and its capacity to induce fungal damage. In addition, intravaginal fungal infection assays using a murine model infected by
were carried out and the fungal burden, histopathology, and scanning electron microscopy were evaluated. All of our results suggest that limonene may play a protective role against the infection process by yeast from the genus