Antifungal susceptibility analysis of berberine, baicalin, eugenol and curcumin on Candida albicans

Objective: To analyze the antifungal effects of Chinese herb monomers, i.e. berberine, baicalin, eugenol and curcumin, on Candida albicans. Methods: After Candida albicans strain Y01-09 was incubated for 48 h in YEPD broth which contained different concentrations of Chinese herb components, the cell cycle, fluorescent intensity and the size of cell volume were detected by flow cytometry. Results: The 4 Chinese herb monomers could affect the cell cycle of Candida albicans in different ranges. The ratio of cells in S-G2-M period decreased as the agents concentration increased, indicating that the cell division was inhibited. The fluorescent intensity of Candida albicans cells became weaker after being incubated, which reflected the loss of DNA fragments. The higher the concentration was, the weaker the fluorescent intensity became. The cell size, cell diopter and particle size changed much as the agents concentration increased. Conclusion: Chinese herb monomers play the antifungal role in inhibiting cell division. FCM could be used to determine the susceptibility of antifungal agents.