Augmenting the Antifungal Activity of an Oxidizing Agent with Kojic Acid: Control of Penicillium Strains Infecting Crops

Molecules

Jong H. Kim¹  Kathleen L. Chan² 

[1] Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, USDA-ARS, 800 Buchanan St., Albany, CA 94710, USA; E-Mail

关键词: antifungal;    chemosensitization;    heat treatment;    hydrogen peroxide;    kojic acid;    mycotoxin;    Penicillium;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules191118448

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Oxidative treatment is one of the strategies for preventing Penicillium contamination in crops/foods. The antifungal efficacy of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂; oxidant) was investigated in Penicillium strains by using kojic acid (KA) as a chemosensitizing agent, which can enhance the susceptibility of pathogens to antifungal agents. Co-application of KA with H₂O₂ (chemosensitization) resulted in the enhancement of antifungal activity of either compound, when compared to the independent application of each agent alone. Of note, heat enhanced the activity of H₂O₂ to a greater extent during chemosensitization, whereby the minimum inhibitory or minimum fungicidal concentrations of H₂O₂ was decreased up to 4 or 13 fold, respectively, at 35–45 °C (heat), when compared to that at 28 °C (normal growth temperature). However, heat didn’t increase the antifungal activity of KA, indicating specificity exists between heat and types of antifungals applied. The effect of chemosensitization was also strain-specific, where P. expansum (both parental and fludioxonil-resistant mutants) or P. italicum 983 exhibited relatively higher susceptibility to the chemosensitization, comparing to other Penicillium strains tested. Collectively, chemosensitization can serve as a potent antifungal strategy to lower effective dosages of toxic antifungal substances, such as H₂O₂. This can lead to coincidental lowering of environmental and health risks.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.