In-vitro antifungal activity of resorcinol against human fungal pathogen Candida albicans

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal potential of Resorcinol (Res) against human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. In this study, we explored that Res displayed its antifungal potential against two reference strains of C. albicans (ATCC 10261 and ATCC 24433) and five clinical isolates tested. We also showed that Res is equally effective against various nonalbicans species of Candida as well thereby demonstrating its wide repertoire. Notably, the antifungal effect of Res seems to be independent of the activity of major drug efflux pumps transporter which is the major cause of drug resistance in C. albicans. Finally, we also demonstrated that Res inhibits the serum and nitrogen starvation dependent yeast to hyphal transition in C. albicans which is one of the major virulence attribute. Taken together, Res exhibited promising in vitro antifungal properties and potent inhibitor of yeast to hyphal transition that could be used for the treatment of Candida infections. Further cellular and in vivo studies are required to explore its precise mechanism of action.