Zerumbone inhibits Candida albicans biofilm formation and hyphal growth

Abstract

Candida albicans biofilm formation is considered an important matter because it can lead to strong resistance to conventional antifungal agents. Hyphae formed by C. albicans can also act as an important virulence factor related to its biofilm. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of zerumbone, a monocyclic sesquiterpene extracted from Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Smith, against C. albicans biofilm formation. Our results suggest that zerumbone possesses antifungal and antibiofilm activity that inhibits biofilm formation and eradicates preformed biofilm. Notably, zerumbone considerably reduced carbohydrate and DNA contents of biofilm matrix. In addition, zerumbone showed antivirulence effects by decreasing the growth of hyphae and inhibiting morphologic changes of C. albicans. Furthermore, zerumbone significantly downregulated expression levels of biofilm-related and hyphae-specific genes, including HWP1 and ALS3. Since zerumbone suppresses biofilm formation and hyphae growth, these results indicate that zerumbone could be used as a potential candidate to treat and prevent C. albicans biofilm-related infections.