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Antifungal Biofilm Inhibitory Effects of Combinations of Diclofenac and Essential Oils

Authors :
Alexia Barbarossa
Antonio Rosato
Antonio Carrieri
Roberta Tardugno
Filomena Corbo
Maria Lisa Clodoveo
Giuseppe Fracchiolla
Alessia Carocci
Source :
Antibiotics, Vol 12, Iss 12, p 1673 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2023.

Abstract

Systemic fungal infections have risen in recent decades and most of them are caused by Candida species, which are becoming increasingly resistant to conventional antifungal drugs. Biofilm production has been considered the most common growth form of Candida cells and is associated with a high level of antifungal resistance. At present, international research reports on the antifungal activity of non-traditional antimicrobial drugs and their potential use against life-threatening resistant fungal infections. Indeed, drug repurposing has led to the consideration of well-known compounds as a last-line therapy. The goal of this work is to evaluate the potential synergistic antifungal biofilm activity of new combinations between diclofenac sodium salt (DSS), a widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), with the essential oils (EOs) of Mentha piperita, Pelargonium graveolens, and Melaleuca alternifolia, whose antifungal activity has been well documented over the years. The in vitro antifungal activity of DSS and EOs was determined on different Candida strains. Susceptibility testing and the synergism of DSS and EOs versus biofilm cells was performed by using the broth microdilution assay and checkerboard methods. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (sMIC50) of DSS alone ranged from 1.25 to 2.05 mg/mL for all the strains considered. These values significantly decreased when the drug was used in combination with the EOs. The fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) was lower than 0.5 for almost all the associations, thus indicating a significant synergism, particularly for the DSS–Pelargonium graveolens combination towards the Candida strains examined. These preliminary results show that the combination of the EOs with DSS improves the antifungal activity on all the tested Candida strains, significantly lowering the concentrations of the components used and thus allowing any toxic effects to be overcome.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
12121673 and 20796382
Volume :
12
Issue :
12
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Antibiotics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.0a65754183144ab6896f4ca7e7c336c7
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12121673