The Effects of Dehydrozingerone on Growth, Biofilm Formation, and Ergosterol Biosynthesis of Candida albicans

Candida albicans can cause various diseases, which might lead to various cases of life-threatening diseases. Biofilm is a specific feature of C. albicans formed on mucosal surfaces and medical devices. Moreover, biofilm protects Candida cells from antifungals and makes the treatment challenging. Here, we studied the effects of dehydrozingerone on C. albicans growth, ergosterol biosynthesis, biofilm formation, and the expression of an essential gene involved in yeast-hypha transition.

C. albicans cells were treated with serial two-fold concentrations of dehydrozingerone (0.125-2 mg/ml) for 48 h at 35 °C. The weights of the fungal cells were estimated as a sign of fungal growth. Biofilm formation was evaluated by a tetrazolium salt (XTT) reduction assay. The expression of the HWP1 gene was assayed by real-time PCR.

Dehydrozingerone inhibited C. albicans growth in the range of 3.57% to 84.28%, dose-dependently. The ergosterol content of yeast cells was reduced by 50% in the highest concentration. The biofilm formation was also inhibited by more than 50% at the highest concentration. The expression of the HWP1 gene was suppressed by dehydrozingerone at different concentrations.

Our results indicate that dehydrozingerone displayed effective activity against growth, biofilm formation, and ergosterol biosynthesis in C. albicans in vitro.