Abstract

Candida albicans adhesion to a surface, whether mammalian or synthetic, is the first step in its pathogenic phase followed by a morphological change from the yeast to hyphae phenotype (the virulent state). Moreover, C. albicans biofilm formation is becoming a common occurrence on catheters and other types of intravenous devices, which if not surgically replaced, can lead to life threatening systemic infections. Yet, resistance is increasing to currently, and limited, anti-fungal agent to combat these Candida virulent factors. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the potential synergistic interplay of the phenols present in supina grass extracts to remediate biofilm formation of C. albicans (A72 and SC5314). An extract of supina was prepared, characterized for phenolic content, which confirmed the presence of primarily ferulic, coumaric, and lower levels of caffeic acids. The extract was then used to treat cell biofilm formation established by C. albicans (A72 and SC5314) at incubation times of 1, 3, 5 and 24 h and 4 concentrations ranging from (0.72-7200 ng/g). The extracts were able to remediate biofilm formation for both C. albicans strains at time points 3 and 6 h 50-70% at primarily the lower dosages but were mostly effective at all the doses, but not in a dose dependent manner. Upon combining the extract with different phenol levels of ferulic and coumaric acids, established C. albicans biofilms were reduced even further, i.e., 50-70%, (6 h incubation. Moreover, these compounds acted synergistically with the grass matrix based on calculation of the fractional inhibitory values, which were below 0.5.