Total synthesis and further scrutiny of the in vitro antifungal activity of 6-nonadecynoic acid

The Potential of Fatty Acids and Their Derivatives as Antifungal Agents: A Review

Fungal contamination presents several problems: in humans, health issues arise from infections with opportunistic filamentous fungi and yeast, while in food, fungi cause spoilage and, in particular, in the case of mycotoxigenic fungi, can cause serious health issues. Several types of fatty acids and their derivatives, oxylipins, have been found to have inhibitory effect towards fungal growth and the production of mycotoxins. The use of fatty acids as antifungals could fulfil consumer’s requests of more natural and environmentally friendly compounds, while being less likely to promote fungal resistance. In addition, due to their nature, fatty acids are easily used as food additives. In this work, we review the most relevant and recent studies on the antifungal ability of fatty acids. We focused on saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, and oxylipins, their different impact on fungal inhibition, their proposed modes of action, and their ability to impair mycotoxin production. Applications of fatty acids as antifungals and their limitations are also addressed.

Biological and structural effects of the conjugation of an antimicrobial decapeptide with saturated, unsaturated, methoxylated and branched fatty acids

The increasing bacterial resistance against conventional antibiotics has led to the search for new antimicrobial drugs with different modes of action. Cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and lipopeptides are promising candidates to treat infections because they act on bacterial membranes causing rapid destruction of sensitive bacteria. In this study, a decapeptide named A2 (IKQVKKLFKK) was conjugated at the N-terminus with saturated, unsaturated, methoxylated and methyl -branched fatty acids of different chain lengths (C8 - C20), the antimicrobial and structural properties of the lipopeptides being then investigated. The attachment of the fatty acid chain significantly improved the antimicrobial activity of A2 against bacteria, and so, endowed it with moderated antifungal activity against yeast strains belonging to genus Candida. Lipopeptides containing hydrocarbon chain lengths between C8 and C14 were the best antibacterial compounds (MIC = 0.7 to 5.8 μM), while the most active compounds against yeast were A2 conjugated with methoxylated and enoic fatty acids (11.1 to 83.3 μM). The improvement in antimicrobial activity was mainly related to the amphipathic secondary structure adopted by A2 lipopeptides in the presence of vesicles that mimic bacterial membranes. Peptide conjugation with long hydrocarbon chains (C12 or more), regardless of their structure, significantly increased toxicity towards eukaryotic cells, resulting in a loss of selectivity. These findings suggest that A2-derived lipopeptides are potential good candidates for the treatment of infectious diseases caused by bacteria and opportunistic pathogenic yeast belonging to genus Candida. Copyright © 2016 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Antibacterial activity of 2-alkynoic fatty acids against multidrug-resistant bacteria

The first study aimed at determining the structural characteristics needed to prepare antibacterial 2-alkynoic fatty acids (2-AFAs) was accomplished by synthesizing several 2-AFAs and other analogs in 18-76% overall yields. Among all the compounds tested, the 2-hexadecynoic acid (2-HDA) displayed the best overall antibacterial activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (MIC=15.6 μg/mL), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (MIC=15.5 μg/mL), and Bacillus cereus (MIC=31.3 μg/mL), as well as against the Gram-negative Klebsiella pneumoniae (7.8 μg/mL) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC=125 μg/mL). In addition, 2-HDA displayed significant antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) ATCC 43300 (MIC=15.6 μg/mL) and clinical isolates of MRSA (MIC=3.9 μg/mL). No direct relationship was found between the antibacterial activity of 2-AFAs and their critical micelle concentration (CMC) suggesting that the antibacterial properties of these fatty acids are not mediated by micelle formation. It was demonstrated that the presence of a triple bond at C-2 and the carboxylic acid moiety in 2-AFAs are important for their antibacterial activity. 2-HDA has the potential to be further evaluated for use in antibacterial formulations.

Potent in vitro antifungal activities of naturally occurring acetylenic acids

Our continuing effort in antifungal natural product discovery has led to the identification of five 6-acetylenic acids with chain lengths from C(16) to C(20): 6-hexadecynoic acid (compound 1), 6-heptadecynoic acid (compound 2), 6-octadecynoic acid (compound 3), 6-nonadecynoic acid (compound 4), and 6-icosynoic acid (compound 5) from the plant Sommera sabiceoides. Compounds 2 and 5 represent newly isolated fatty acids. The five acetylenic acids were evaluated for their in vitro antifungal activities against Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Trichophyton rubrum by comparison with the positive control drugs amphotericin B, fluconazole, ketoconazole, caspofungin, terbinafine, and undecylenic acid. The compounds showed various degrees of antifungal activity against the 21 tested strains. Compound 4 was the most active, in particular against the dermatophytes T. mentagrophytes and T. rubrum and the opportunistic pathogens C. albicans and A. fumigatus, with MICs comparable to several control drugs. Inclusion of two commercially available acetylenic acids, 9-octadecynoic acid (compound 6) and 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (compound 7), in the in vitro antifungal testing further demonstrated that the antifungal activities of the acetylenic acids were associated with their chain lengths and positional triple bonds. In vitro toxicity testing against mammalian cell lines indicated that compounds 1 to 5 were not toxic at concentrations up to 32 muM. Furthermore, compounds 3 and 4 did not produce obvious toxic effects in mice at a dose of 34 mumol/kg of body weight when administered intraperitoneally. Taking into account the low in vitro and in vivo toxicities and significant antifungal potencies, these 6-acetylenic acids may be excellent leads for further preclinical studies.

New advances in fatty acids as antimalarial, antimycobacterial and antifungal agents

This review deals with the most recent findings on the antimalarial, antimycobacterial, and antifungal properties of fatty acids, with particular emphasis on novel marine fatty acids. The first section deals with the most recent and some background literature on what has been the latest developments with respect to fatty acids as antimalarial agents and the importance of enzyme inhibition, in particular the inhibition of the enoyl-ACP reductase (FabI) of Plasmodium falciparum, the principal agent responsible for malaria. This section of the review also emphasizes the latest antimalarial research with the very long-chain Delta5,9 fatty acids from sponges. The second section of the review deals with the recent literature on the antimycobacterial activity of fatty acids and the importance of enzyme inhibition, in particular the inhibition of the enoyl-ACP reductase (InhA) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for antimycobacterial activity. The inhibitory activities of the Delta5,9 fatty acids against InhA as well as that of the alpha-methoxylated fatty acids are also discussed. The importance of Delta5,9 fatty acids as topoisomerase I inhibitors and its connection to cancer is also reviewed. The last part of the review, the antifungal section, also emphasizes the most recent research with antifungal fatty acids and the importance of enzyme inhibition, in particular N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) inhibition, for antifungal activity. This last section of the review emphasizes the latest research with the alpha-methoxylated fatty acids but the importance of acetylenic fatty acids is also considered.

2,6-hexadecadiynoic acid and 2,6-nonadecadiynoic acid: novel synthesized acetylenic fatty acids as potent antifungal agents

The hitherto unknown 2,6-hexadecadiynoic acid, 2,6-nonadecadiynoic acid, and 2,9-hexadecadiynoic acid were synthesized in two steps and in 11-18% overall yields starting from either 1,5-hexadiyne or 1,8-nonadiyne. Among all the compounds 2,6-hexadecadiynoic acid displayed the best overall antifungal activity against both the fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans strains ATCC 14053 and ATCC 60193, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC of 11 microM), and against Cryptococcus neoformans ATCC 66031 (MIC < 5.7 microM). 2,9-Hexadecadiynoic acid did not display any significant cytotoxicity against the fluconazole-resistant C. albicans strains, but it showed fungitoxicity against C. neoformans ATCC 66031 with a MIC value of < 5.8 microM. Other FA, such as 2-hexadecynoic acid, 5-hexadecynoic acid, 9-hexadecynoic acid, and 6-nonadecynoic acid were also synthesized and their antifungal activities compared with those of the novel acetylenic FA. 2-Hexadecynoic acid, a known antifungal FA, exhibited the best antifungal activity (MIC = 9.4 microM) against the fluconazole-resistant C. albicans ATCC 14053 strain, but it showed a MIC value of only 100 microM against C. albicans ATCC 60193. 2,6-Hexadecadiynoic acid and 2-hexadecynoic acid also displayed a MIC of 140-145 microM toward Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv in Middlebrook 7H12 medium. In conclusion, 2,6-hexadecadiynoic acid exhibited the best fungitoxicity profile compared with other analogues. This diynoic FA has the potential to be further evaluated for use in topical antifungal formulations.