Synthesis of Coumarin and Homoisoflavonoid Derivatives and Analogs: The Search for New Antifungal Agents.

A set of twenty-four synthetic derivatives, with coumarin and homoisoflavonoid cores and structural analogs, were submitted for evaluation of antifungal activity against various species of Candida. The broth microdilution test was used to determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the compounds and to verify the possible antifungal action mechanisms. The synthetic derivatives were obtained using various reaction methods, and six new compounds were obtained. The structures of the synthesized products were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy: 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and HRMS. The coumarin derivative 8 presented the best antifungal profile, suggesting that the pentyloxy substituent at the C-7 position of coumarin ring could potentiate the bioactivity. Compound 8 was then evaluated against the biofilm of C. tropicalis ATCC 13803, which showed a statistically significant reduction in biofilm at concentrations of 0.268 µmol/mL and 0.067 µmol/mL, when compared to the growth control group. For a better understanding of their antifungal activity, compounds 8 and 21 were submitted to a study of the mode of action on the fungal cell wall and plasma membrane. It was observed that neither compound interacted directly with ergosterol present in the fungal plasma membrane or with the fungal cell wall. This suggests that their bioactivity was due to interaction involving other pharmacological targets. Compound 8 was also subjected to a molecular modeling study, which showed that its antifungal action mechanism occurred mainly through interference in the redox balance of the fungal cell, and by compromising the plasma membrane; not by direct interaction, but by interference in ergosterol synthesis. Another important finding was the antifungal capacity of homoisoflavonoids 23 and 24. Derivative 23 presented slightly higher antifungal activity, possibly due to the presence of the methoxyl substituent in the meta position in ring B.

Bioactivity and Molecular Docking Studies of Derivatives from Cinnamic and Benzoic Acids.

Over the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the prevalence and gravity of systemic fungal diseases. This study aimed therefore at evaluating the antifungal potential of ester derivatives of benzoic and cinnamic acids from three Candida species. The compounds were prepared via Fischer esterification, and the antifungal assay was performed by the microdilution method in 96-well microplates for determining the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs). The findings of the antifungal tests revealed that the analogue compound methyl ferulate, methyl o-coumarate, and methyl biphenyl-3-carboxylate displayed an interesting antifungal activity against all Candida strains tested, with MIC values of 31.25-62.5, 62.5-125, and 62.5 µg/ml, respectively. A preliminary Structure-Activity Relationship study of benzoic and cinnamic acid derivatives has led to the recognition of some important structural requirements for antifungal activity. The results of molecular docking indicate that the presence of the enoate moiety along with hydroxyl and one methoxy substitution in the phenyl ring has a positive effect on the bioactivity of compound 7 against Candida albicans. These observations further support the hypothesis that the antifungal activity of compound 7 could be due to its binding to multiple targets, specifically to QR, TS, and ST-PK. Additional experiments are required in the future to test this hypothesis and to propose novel compounds with improved antifungal activity.

Antifungal activity of cinnamic acid and benzoic acid esters against Candida albicans strains.

Candida albicans is an important opportunistic fungal pathogen capable of provoking infection in humans. In the present study, we evaluated the antifungal effect of 23 ester derivatives of the cinnamic and benzoic acids against 3 C. albicans strains (ATCC-76645, LM-106 and LM-23), as well as discuss their Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR). The antifungal assay results revealed that the screened compounds exhibited different levels of activity depending on structural variation. Among the ester analogues, methyl caffeate (5) and methyl 2-nitrocinnamate (10) were the analogues that presented the best antifungal effect against all C. albicans strains, presenting the same MIC values (MIC = 128 µg/mL), followed by methyl biphenyl-2-carboxylate (21) (MIC = 128, 128 and 256 µg/mL for C. albicans LM-106, LM-23, and ATCC-76645, respectively). Our results suggest that certain molecular characteristics are important for the antifungal action.