Mitracarpus frigidus: A promising antifungal in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis

Candida species are opportunistic pathogens associated with some important clinical infections such as vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). Nowadays, candidiasis is a public health problem that is aggravated by inefficiency of the traditionally used antifungal agents. The aim of the work was to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of M. frigidus methanolic extract (MFM) against C. albicans ATCC® 10231 drug resistant strain. The in vitro assays (Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) = 500 μg ml−1; fungal cell density; nucleotide leakage; permeability with crystal violet; sorbitol protection; ergosterol effect and time-kill kinetics) demonstrated that MFM has a growth inhibition effect on C. albicans acting on the cellular envelope by increasing cell permeability and interfering in the fungus growth. The in vivo assays (therapeutic treatment of the experimental VVC) showed that MFM is able to decrease the fungal infection. Altogether, the in vitro and in vivo results of this study proved that MFM is active for the VVC caused by C. albicans ATCC® 10231 strain. Considering the non-toxicity of the extract reported in previous studies from our group and the present results, MFM may be considered a promising antifungal agent.