Antifungal effect of Crescentia cujete fruit extracts on clinical strains of Candida albicans

• Martínez-De La Rosa, Walter Ángel ^[1] ; Mendoza-Sánchez, Xilene ^[1] ; Ruiz-Tafur, Liliana M ^[1] ; Guzmán-Acuña, Josefina ^[1] ; Collazos-Lara, Yoleydis Elena ^[1] ; Pérez-Pérez, Osmar ^[1] ; Rodríguez-Sanjuán, Alexander ^[2] ; García-Toscano, Yina P. ^[1] ; Bettin-Martínez, Alfonso ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Metropolitana

     Universidad Metropolitana

     Puerto Rico

     
  2. [2] Universidad del Norte

     Universidad del Norte

     Colombia

     
• Localización: Duazary: Revista internacional de Ciencias de la Salud, ISSN-e 2389-783X, ISSN 1794-5992, Vol. 21, Nº. 3, 2024 (Ejemplar dedicado a: (julio-septiembre))
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Candidiasis is a common fungal infection globally, ranging from superficial to severe invasive forms that can be life-threatening. This study aimed to evaluate the antifungal effects of ethanol and n-hexane extracts from Crescentia cujete fruit against Candida albicans strains. Crescentia cujete fruit pulp was dried and extracted using Soxhlet with ethanol and n-hexane. Two reference strains of C. albicans (ATCC 10231 and 90028) and 12 clinical isolates from vaginal smears were tested under various conditions: without extract, with serial dilutions of ethanol or n-hexane extracts, and with ethanol and n-hexane at the same concentrations. Growth was measured using MicroELISA equipment. Results showed that n-hexane and ethanol extracts significantly reduced the growth of 9/12 and 4/12 clinical strains, respectively, and also affected the ATCC 90028 and ATCC 10231 strains. A direct correlation was observed between growth inhibition and extract concentration, with n-hexane exhibiting a stronger correlation (Spearman's Rho=0.609, p<0.05) compared to ethanol (Spearman's Rho=0.387, p<0.05). This study is the first to demonstrate the antifungal effects of Crescentia cujete fruit extracts on clinical Candida albicans strains, suggesting that a low-polarity compound in the fruit inhibits Candida albicans, including the ATCC 1031 strain resistant to common antifungals.