Herbal Products and Their Active Constituents Used Alone and in Combination with Antifungal Drugs against Drug-Resistant <i>Candida</i> sp.

Abstract

Clinical isolates of Candida yeast are the most common cause of opportunistic fungal infections resistant to certain antifungal drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to detect more effective antifungal agents that would be successful in overcoming such infections. Among them are some herbal products and their active constituents.The purpose of this review is to summarize the current state of knowledge onherbal products and their active constituents havingantifungal activity against drug-resistant Candida sp. used alone and in combination with antifungal drugs.The possible mechanisms of their action on drug-resistant Candida sp. including (1) inhibition of budding yeast transformation into hyphae; (2) inhibition of biofilm formation; (3) inhibition of cell wall or cytoplasmic membrane biosynthesis; (4) ROS production; and (5) over-expression of membrane transporters will be also described.

Keywords

• herbalproducts
• herbal active constituents
• drug-resistant <i>Candida</i> sp.
• antifungal drug