Antifungal chemotherapy

The impact of mucormycosis (black fungus) on SARS-CoV-2-infected patients: at a glance

The emergence of various diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic made health workers more attentive, and one of the new pathogens is the black fungus (mucormycosis). As a result, millions of lives have already been lost. As a result of the mutation, the virus is constantly changing its traits, including the rate of disease transmission, virulence, pathogenesis, and clinical signs. A recent analysis revealed that some COVID-19 patients were also coinfected with a fungal disease called mucormycosis (black fungus). India has already categorized the COVID-19 patient black fungus outbreak as an epidemic. Only a few reports are observed in other countries. The immune system is weakened by COVID-19 medication, rendering it more prone to illnesses like black fungus (mucormycosis). COVID-19, which is caused by a B.1.617 strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been circulating in India since April 2021. Mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection induced by exposure to a fungus called mucormycete. The most typically implicated genera are Mucor rhyzuprhizopusdia and Cunninghamella. Mucormycosis is also known as zygomycosis. The main causes of infection are soil, dumping sites, ancient building walls, and other sources of infection (reservoir words "mucormycosis" and "zygomycosis" are occasionally interchanged). Zygomycota, on the other hand, has been identified as polyphyletic and is not currently included in fungal classification systems; also, zygomycosis includes Entomophthorales, but mucormycosis does not. This current review will be focused on the etiology and virulence factors of COVID-19/mucormycosis coinfections in COVID-19-associated mucormycosis patients, as well as their prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment.

Antifungal activity against Cryptococcus neoformans strains and genotoxicity assessment in human leukocyte cells of Euphorbia tirucalli L

In the last times, focus on plant research has increased all over the world. Euphorbia tirucalli L., a plant known popularly as Aveloz, and originally used in Africa, has been drawing attention for its use in the United States and Latin America, both for use as an ornamental plant and as a medicinal plant. E. tirucalli L. is a member of the family Euphorbiaceae and contains many diterpenoids and triterpenoids, in particular phorbol esters, apparently the main constituent of this plant, which are assumed to be responsible for their activities in vivo and in vitro. The in vitro antifungal activities of Euphorbia tirucalli (L.) against opportunistic yeasts were studied using microbroth dilution assay. The results showed that aqueous extract and latex preparation were effective against ten clinical strains of Cryptococcus neoformans in vitro (Latex and extract MIC range of 3.2 – > 411 μg/mL). Aiming the safe use in humans, the genotoxic effects of E. tirucalli were evaluated in human leukocytes cells. Our data show that both aqueous extract and latex preparation have no genotoxic effect in human leukocytes cells in vitro. Although the results cannot be extrapolated by itself for use in vivo, they suggest a good perspective for a therapeutic application in future. In conclusion, our results show that the aqueous extract and latex preparation from E. tirucalli L. are antifungal agents effectives against several strains of C. neoformans and do not provoke DNA damage in human leukocyte cells, considering the concentrations tested.