With the clinical emergence of antifungal resistance particularly in immuno-compromised patients, and in the environment due to fungicide use in agriculture, the development of alternative treatment strategies to combat antifungal resistance in fungal infections is of vital importance.The low molecular weight alginate oligosaccharide, OligoG, composed of >85% a-ʟ-guluronic acid oligomers, has shown potential as an antifungal agent. OligoG has demonstrated the ability to both inhibit growth of Candida spp. and potentiate the effects of the antifungal agents (nystatin and fluconazole) against C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, and C. tropicalis, with an up to 16-fold observed reduction in MIC when used as a dual therapy . OligoG has also been found to reduce in vitro virulence factor expression and hyphal invasion by C. albicans .
The antifungal activity of the alginate oligosaccharide OligoG in conjunction with nystatin was tested against a range of Candida spp. (C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. auris, C. tropicalis and C. dubliniensis), in both planktonic and biofilm assays, to determine its potential clinical utility to enhance the treatment of candidal infections.MIC and growth curve assays demonstrated the synergistic effects of OligoG (0-6%) with nystatin, resulting in an up to 32-fold reduction in MIC, and a signifificant reduction in the growth of C. parapsilosis and C. auris .The ATP biofilm disruption assay demonstrated a significant reduction in cell viability with OligoG (4%) alone and the combined OligoG/nystatin (MIC value) treatment for all Candida strains tested.Antimicrobial synergy between OligoG and nystatin against Candida spp. highlights the potential utility of this combination therapy in the prevention and topical treatment of candidal biofifilm infections, to overcome the inherent tolerance of biofilm structures to antifungal agents.
Reference:Alginate oligosaccharides enhance the antifungal activity of nystatin against candidal biofilms
BZ Oligo mainly offer marine oligosaccharide standards and ingredients, containing alginate oligosaccharide, chitosan oligosaccharide, agar oligosaccharide and carrageenan oligosaccharide, which give business opportunities using these untapped oligosaccharides for biological applications targeting lab research, pharmacy, dietary supplement, sustainable agriculture and animal health.