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Glutathione as a promising anti‐hydrophobicity agent against Malassezia spp.
Author(s) -
Sivasankar Chandran,
Ponmalar Ayyappan,
Bhaskar James P.,
Pandian Shunmugiah K.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
mycoses
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.13
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1439-0507
pISSN - 0933-7407
DOI - 10.1111/myc.12370
Subject(s) - malassezia , glutathione , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , enzyme
Summary The genus Malassezia has recently attracted wide attention in medical microbiology and dermatology as a pathogen. They are lipophilic yeasts possessing high level of cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH). l ‐glutathione (GSH) is a ubiquitous antioxidant which offers protection against microbial infections. This study is intended to investigate the role of GSH as a potential anti‐hydrophobicity agent against Malazessia spp. Microbial adherence to hydrocarbon assay was performed to assess the anti‐hydrophobicity activity (AHA) of GSH against four Malassezia spp. The assay revealed that GSH at 400 μg ml −1 concentration inhibited CSH, ranging from 84% to 95% in M. furfur , M. globosa , M. restricta and M. sympodialis without killing the cells. The AHA of GSH was corroborated by auto‐aggregation assay and zeta‐potential measurement, through which delayed cell aggregation was observed due to reduction in CSH level and not by modification in cell surface charge. In addition, colony‐forming unit assay was performed in which 62–93% of CSH reduction was observed in Malassezia spp. tested. Furthermore, GSH treatment enhanced the sensitivity of Malassezia spp. towards human blood at the rate of 64–72%. The AHA was further confirmed through Fourier transform infrared analysis. Thus, this study portrays GSH as a prospective therapeutic alternative for Malassezia‐ mediated infections.