Korean J Med Mycol.  1996 Dec;1(1):47-54.

Biological Properties of a Polyene Antifungal Substance(AF1) Produced from Streptomyces sp. WCM-9

• Shin WS
• Jung SH
• Yi DH
• Lee KH
• Kim SK
• Park JY
• Koh CM

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Pathogenic fungi infect humans, especially immunocompromised patients, with superficial or deeply invasive pattern. In the past 20 years, fungal infections have been increased dramatically resulted by increment of organ transplantation, cancer, AIDS patients, or use of broad-spectrum antibacterial agents. Fungal infections are now important causes of morbidity and mortality of hospitalized patients. but there is no effective antifungal antibiotics as well as antibacterial antibiotics
OBJECTIVE
Effective new antifungal antibiotics are needed for the treatment of mycosis. So in an effort to develop effective antifungal antibiotics, we screened over 600 isolates of Streptomyces sp. from soil.
METHODS
Antifungal producing strain was selected using disk diffusion method, An antifungal substance (AF1) was purified with ethyl acetate extraction, silica gel column chromatography and reverse phase HPLC. MICs of AF1 were detected by agar dilition method.
RESULTS
The compound showed UV maxima of 307, 321, 340, 359 nm indicating methylpentaene. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of the AF1 were 3.7 microgram/ml against mold, and 3.7 - 7.4 microgram/ml against Candida species. AFI was also active against Crytococcus neoformans, with MIC of 0.9 microgram/ml. The concentration of AF1 for K+ ion release from human red blood cell and hemolysis were 5 microgram/ml.
CONCLUSION
The antibiotic purified from culture broth of Streptomyces sp. WCM-9 was a polyene antifungal antibiotic which have broad spectrum antifungal activity.

Keyword

Antifungal antibiotics; Polyene; Streptomyces

MeSH Terms

Agar
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Antifungal Agents
Candida
Chromatography
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Diffusion
Erythrocytes
Fungi
Hemolysis
Humans
Immunocompromised Host
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Mortality
Organ Transplantation
Silica Gel
Soil
Streptomyces*
Transplants
Agar
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Antifungal Agents
Silica Gel
Soil