Natural Antimicrobial Peptides as Inspiration for Design of a New Generation Antifungal Compounds

Abstract

Invasive fungal infections are associated with high mortality rates, despite appropriate antifungal therapy. Limited therapeutic options, resistance development and the high mortality of invasive fungal infections brought about more concern triggering the search for new compounds capable of interfering with fungal viability and virulence. In this context, peptides gained attention as promising candidates for the antimycotics development. Variety of structural and functional characteristics identified for various natural antifungal peptides makes them excellent starting points for design novel drug candidates. Current review provides a brief overview of natural and synthetic antifungal peptides.

Keywords

• antifungal peptides
• fungal pathogens
• Candida species