Antifungal mechanism of hinokitiol against Candida albicans

Abstract

The growth of Candida albicans was dose-dependently inhibited by addition of hinokitiol. The sensitivity of C. albicans to hinokitiol under aerobic conditions was higher than that under anaerobic conditions. Amount of ATP in C. albicans was not inhibited by hinokitiol under both conditions. The expression of mRNAs related to the growth signal, CYR1 and RAS1, was inhibited by hinokitiol. These findings suggested that the growth inhibition of C. albicans by hinokitiol was due to the interruption of RAS-signal transmission, such as the cAMP pathway. © 2008 Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.