Carex meyeriana Kunth Extract Is a Novel Natural Drug against Candida albicans

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2024-07, Vol.25 (13), p.7288
• Main Authors: Du, Panpan, Liu, Bingyan, Wang, Xueting, Zheng, Zhong, Liu, Shu, Guan, Songlei, Hou, Zong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antifungal agents; Antifungal Agents - chemistry; Antifungal Agents - pharmacology; Candida albicans; Candida albicans - drug effects; Carex meyeriana Kunth; Cytokines - metabolism; Drug dosages; Edema; Female; Flavonoids; Humans; Inflammation; Metabolism; Metabolites; metabolomics; Mice; Multivariate analysis; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Vagina; Vagina - drug effects; Vagina - microbiology; vaginitis
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25137288

As a widely distributed plant in Northeast China, Kunth (CMK) is generally considered to have antibacterial properties; however, there is a lack of scientific evidence for this. Therefore, we investigated the chemical composition of CMK extract and its effect against A total of 105 compounds were identified in the alcohol extracts of CMK by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Most were flavonoids, with being the most represented. Among them, 19 compounds are found in the lysates. After treatment with CMK ethanol extract, a significant reduction in the number of colonies was observed in a vaginal douche solution from day 5 ( < 0.05). Furthermore, the CMK extract can reduce the number of spores. The levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-1β, and TNF-α in vaginal tissues all exhibited a significant decrease ( < 0.05) compared to those in the model group as determined by ELISA. The results of HE staining showed that CMK extract can eliminate vaginal mucosa inflammation. CMK adjusts the vaginal mucosa cells by targeting twenty-six different metabolites and five specific metabolic pathways in order to effectively eliminate inflammation. Simultaneously, the CMK regulates twenty-three types of metabolites and six metabolic pathways against infection. So, CMK strongly inhibits the growth of and significantly reduces vaginal inflammation, making it a promising candidate for treating infection.