Antifungal activity of 4-substituted crotonic acid esters.

Twenty-three 4-substituted crotonic acid esters were tested for antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Mucor mucedo, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. For the analogues of the methyl ester containing substituents in the 4 position, the following order of fungitoxicity was observed: I greater than Br greater than Cl greater than CH3S greater than CH3O greater than F=H. Of the homologues of the esters of the 4-iodo and 4-bromo compounds which included methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, n-pentyl, and n-hexyl, ethyl 4-iodocrotonate was most toxic to the four fungi at pH 7.0 in the presence of 10% beef serum (C. albicans, 18mug/ml, A. niger, 40 mug/ml, M. mucedo, 5 mug/ml, T. mentagrophytes, 4 mug/ml). It is believed that the mechanism of fungitoxicity is due, in part, to a nucleophilic reaction involving SH-containing compounds. This is based on the correlation of fungitoxicity with the order of leaving groups in the nucleophilic reaction and the protection against the toxicity of the test compounds to the fungi by cysteine and glutathione.