Pythiosis is a harmful disease caused by Pythium insidiosum, an aquatic oomycete. Therapeutic protocols based on antifungal drugs are often ineffective because the cytoplasmic membrane of P. insidiosum does not contain ergosterol. Therefore, the treatment of pythiosis is still challenging, particularly making use of natural products and secondary metabolites from bacteria. In this study, xanthyletin and substances obtained from Pseudomonas stutzeri ST1302 and Klebsiella pneumoniae ST2501 exhibited anti-P. insidiosum activity and, moreover, xanthyletin was non-toxic against human cell lines. The hyphae of P. insidiosum treated with these three substances exhibited lysis holes on a rough surface and release of anamorphic material. Therefore, xanthyletin could be considered a promising alternative agent for treating cutaneous pythiosis in the near future.

• MeSH
• Antifungal Agents pharmacology   MeSH
• Antiparasitic Agents pharmacology   MeSH
• Bacteria chemistry   metabolism   MeSH
• Cell Line MeSH
• Fibroblasts drug effects   MeSH
• Hyphae drug effects   ultrastructure   MeSH
• Complex Mixtures MeSH
• Coumarins pharmacology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Microbial Sensitivity Tests MeSH
• Pythium drug effects   MeSH
• Cell Survival drug effects   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Antifungal Agents MeSH
• Antiparasitic Agents MeSH
• Complex Mixtures MeSH
• Coumarins MeSH
• xanthyletine MeSH Browser