Sung Woo Sang, Lee In-Seon, Lee Dong Gun
Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 702-701, Korea.
J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2007 Nov;17(11):1797-804.
Lycopene, an acyclic carotenoid found in tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) and a number of fruits, has shown various biological properties, but its antifungal effects remain poorly understood. The current study investigated the antifungal activity of lycopene and its mode of action. Lycopene showed potent antifungal effects toward pathogenic fungi, tested in an energy-independent manner, with low hemolytic effects against human erythrocytes. To confirm the antifungal effects of lycopene, its effects on the dimorphism of Candida albicans induced by fetal bovine serum (FBS), which plays a key role in the pathogenesis of a host invasion, were investigated. The results showed that lycopene exerted potent antifungal activity on the serum-induced mycelia of C. albicans. To understand the antifungal mode of action of lycopene, the action of lycopene against fungal cell membranes was examined by FACScan analysis and glucose and trehalose-release test. The results indicated that lycopene caused significant membrane damage and inhibited the normal budding process, resulting from the destruction of membrane integrity. The present study indicates that lycopene has considerable antifungal activity, deserving further investigation for clinical applications.
番茄红素是一种存在于番茄（番茄属）和多种水果中的无环类胡萝卜素，已显示出多种生物学特性，但其抗真菌作用仍知之甚少。本研究调查了番茄红素的抗真菌活性及其作用方式。番茄红素对致病真菌显示出强大的抗真菌作用，其作用方式不依赖能量，且对人红细胞的溶血作用较低。为了证实番茄红素的抗真菌作用，研究了其对由胎牛血清（FBS）诱导的白色念珠菌二态性的影响，胎牛血清在宿主侵袭的发病机制中起关键作用。结果表明，番茄红素对血清诱导的白色念珠菌菌丝体具有强大的抗真菌活性。为了了解番茄红素的抗真菌作用方式，通过流式细胞仪分析以及葡萄糖和海藻糖释放试验检测了番茄红素对真菌细胞膜的作用。结果表明，番茄红素导致显著的膜损伤并抑制正常的出芽过程，这是由于膜完整性遭到破坏所致。本研究表明，番茄红素具有相当强的抗真菌活性，值得进一步开展临床应用研究。
