• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.383-387
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• 2013

In the present study, we determined the antifungal effect of obacunone isolated from Phellodendri Cortex against Candida ablicans, a pathogenic fungus. The antifungal effect was analyzed by an in-vitro susceptibility test and in a murine model of disseminated candidiasis. Possible mechanism of the antifungal activity was also examined. Analyses of data resulting from the susceptibility test revealed that the compound inhibited C. albicans growth. At 25 ${\mu}g$ obacunone/ml, there was app. 45% reduction of CFUs (colony forming units) as compared to obacunone-untreated C. albicans yeast cells (P<0.01). In the murine model of disseminated candidiasis due to C. albicans, obacunone enhanced resistance of mice against disseminated candidiasis. During an entire period of 30-day observation, control animals all died within 14 days, whereas 60% of obacunone-treated mice survived (P<0.05). In addition, obacunone inhibited the hyphal production, a major virulence factor of C. albicans, from the blastoconidial form. Thus, obacunone appears to have antifungal activity for C. albicans infection. This may possibly be mediated by the blockage of hyphal production.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 2022

Candida is one of the most common causes of bloodstream infections and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients. The purpose of this study was to provide important information for formulating empirical treatment plans for candidemia by investigating the antifungal resistance rate of Candida. Among the Candida strains (973 cases) isolated from blood culture tests at the S hospital in 2009~2018, 4.7% (N=44) comprising the Candida spp. (932 strains) showed resistance to fluconazole. The resistant strains included C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and C. glabrata. In addition Candida spp. (947 strains) showed resistance to amphotericin B (N=6, 0.6%), flucytosine (N=23, 2.4%) and voriconazole (N=24, 3.1%). C. albicans was resistant to fluconazole (N=23, 6.9%) and voriconazole (N=21, 6.0%), The statistical analysis showed that C. albicans and non-albicans Candida species were resistant to fluconazole (P=0.039) and voriconazole (P<0.001). A monitoring system to understand the rate of candidiasis infections in a hospital setting is required. It is also important to make the right choice of the antifungal agent based on drug susceptibility patterns. Therefore, an infection surveillance policy that tracks Candida resistance through regular antifungal susceptibility tests is necessary.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2001

Antifungal activity of 20 chemicals registered to turfgrass diseases was evaluated. Among the chemicals, iprodione, benomyl, iprodione+thiram, pencycuron+tebuconazole, hexaconazole, and iprodione+thiophanate-methyl exhibited high antifungal activity to the dollar spot fungus. All isolates were greatly inhibited by the chemicals at the concentration over 32ppm($\mu\textrm{g}$/ml). However, sensitivity of the isolates to chemicals was varied at the lower concentration as 8 and 16 ppm as follows. The isolate originated from Ora golf course was resistant to iprodione and iprodione+thiophanate methyl, Gonjiam isolate to iprodion, Youngpyung isolate to iprodione+thiram, and Dogo isolate to iprodione+thiram, pencycuron+tebuconazole, and tebuconazole. It was found from this study that the varied chemical resistance among the isolates was positively related to the application time of the chemical in the golf course. Consequently, when a chemical was applied more often times than the others to the golf course, the fungal isolates originate from the field showed higher resistance to the former chemical. Effects of the chemicals on control of the dollar spot was evaluated in the field. All tested chemicals revealed over 70% disease control efficacy, however, mepronil+propiconazole was the best showing 83% control efficacy and followed by fenarimo, iprodione, terbuconazole, thiram, and thiophanate-methyl.

• Mycobiology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.215-218
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• 2010

Azoles are currently the most widely used class of antifungal drugs clinically, and are effective for treating fungal infections. Target site of azoles is ergosterol biosynthesis in fungal cell membrane, which is absent in the mammalian host. However, the development of resistance to azole treatments in the fungal pathogen has become a significant challenge. Here, we report the identification and functional characterization of a UPC2 homolog in the human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. UPC2 plays roles in ergosterol biosynthesis, which is also affected by the availability of iron in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans. C. neoformans mutants lacking UPC2 were constructed, and a number of phenotypic characteristics, including antifungal susceptibility and iron utilization, were analyzed. No differences were found between the mutant phenotypes and wild type, suggesting that the role of C. neoformans UPC2 homolog may be different from those in S. cerevisiae and C. albicans, and that the gene may have a yet unknown function.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

Plants are attacked by various phytopathogenic fungi. For many years, synthetic fungicides have been used to control plant diseases. Although synthetic fungicides are highly effective, their repeated use has led to problems such as environmental pollution, development of resistance, and residual toxicity. This has prompted intensive research on the development of biopesticides, including botanical fungicides. To date, relatively few botanical fungicides have been registered and commercialized. However, many scientists have reported isolation and characterization of a variety of antifungal plant derivatives. Here, we present a survey of a wide range of reported plant-derived antifungal metabolites.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 1984

The effectiveness of three antifungal antibiotics amphotericin B, clotrimazole and 5-fluorocytosine was tested against 120 clinical isolated Candida species. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of amphotericin B was considerably lower than those of clotrimazole and 5-fluorocytosine. High-level resistance to 5-fluorocytosine was present in 50% of the isolates. The combination of clotrimazole and 5-fluorocytosine produced synergistic inhibition against all 20 strains of Candida albicans tested that were relatively resistant to both antifungal agents.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.281-284
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• 2016

To handle the development of antifungal drug resistance, the development of new structural modules and new modes of action for antifungals have been highlighted recently. Here, the antifungal activity of quinonemethidal triterpenoids such as celastrol, dihydrocelastrol, iguestein, pristimerin, and tingenone isolated from Tripterygium regelii were identified (MIC $0.269-19.0{\mu}M$). C. glabrata was the most susceptible to quinonemethide among the tested fungi. Furthermore, quinonemethide suppressed cyctochrome c peroxidase expression dramatically, decreasing fungal viability caused by the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide. Thus, cyctochrome c peroxidase downregulation of quinonemethide may be a key mode of action for antifungals.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.209-214
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• 2014

With the continuing demand for new solutions in the development of effective and safe candidiasis therapies, we investigated the efficacy of an antifungal agent from the marine brown alga Eisenia bicyclis. The methanolic extract of E. bicyclis evinced potential antifungal activity against Candida species. The ethyl acetate (EtOAc)-soluble extract from E. bicyclis demonstrated the strongest antifungal activity against Candida species among five solvent-soluble extracts. Indeed, the EtOAc-soluble extract showed minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 4 to 8 mg/mL. Furthermore, the EtOAc-soluble extract considerably reversed high-level fluconazole resistance of Candida species. The MIC values of fluconazole against Candida species decreased substantially (from 64 to $4{\mu}g/mL$) in combination with the MIC of the EtOAc-soluble extract (4 mg/mL). The fractional inhibitory concentration indices of fluconazole ranged from 0.531 to 0.625 in combination with 4, 2, or 1 mg/mL of the EtOAc-soluble extract against Candida isolates, indicating that these combinations exert a marked synergistic effect against Candida isolates. These findings imply that compounds derived from E. bicyclis can be a potential source of natural antifungal agents against Candida species.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.323-329
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• 2005

Antimicrobial peptides are evolutionary ancient weapons for animal and plant species to depend themselves against infectious microbes. In the present study, we investigated if an antimicrobial peptide was produced from Coptidis Rhizoma. For the determination, protein substance from the medicinal plant was isolated by various preparations. Among the preparations, the protein portion dissolved in phosphate-buffered saline solution (CRP-DS) that contained the most amount of protein $(90\%)$ resulted in maximal inhibition of Candida albicans which causes local and systemic infections. Analyses by gel-electrophoresis and gel-permeation chromatography showed the CRP-DS formed a single band of approximately 11.8 KDa as molecular size. Antifungal activity of the CRP-DS was almost equivalent to antifungal activity by fluconazole, resulting in MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) of approximately $50{\mu}g/ml$. The antifungal activity was a dose-dependent. The antifungal activity appeared to be inactivated by heat-treatment and ionic strength, respectively. In a murine model, the CRP-DS enhanced resistance of mice against disseminated candidiasis. The HPLC analysis demonstrated maximum $4\%$ of berberine as residual content in the CRP-DS preparation resulted in no influence on the antifungal activity. In addition, protein portion isolated from Phellodendri Cortex producing the alkaloid component like Coptidis Rhizoma had no such anticandidal effect. These results indicate that the protein substance from Coptidis Rhizoma was responsible for the antifungal activity.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.195-201
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• 2015

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are known to confer disease resistance to plants. Bacillus sp. JS demonstrated antifungal activities against five fungal pathogens in in vitro assays. To verify whether the volatiles of Bacillus sp. JS confer disease resistance, tobacco leaves pre-treated with the volatiles were damaged by the fungal pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani and oomycete Phytophthora nicotianae. Pre-treated tobacco leaves had smaller lesion than the control plant leaves. In pathogenesis-related (PR) gene expression analysis, volatiles of Bacillus sp. JS caused the up-regulation of PR-2 encoding ${\beta}$-1,3-glucanase and acidic PR-3 encoding chitinase. Expression of acidic PR-4 encoding chitinase and acidic PR-9 encoding peroxidase increased gradually after exposure of the volatiles to Bacillus sp. JS. Basic PR-14 encoding lipid transfer protein was also increased. However, PR-1 genes, as markers of salicylic acid (SA) induced resistance, were not expressed. These results suggested that the volatiles of Bacillus sp. JS confer disease resistance against fungal and oomycete pathogens through PR genes expression.