Drug Discov Ther. 2016;10(1):44-48. (DOI: 10.5582/ddt.2016.01013)

Therapeutic effects of three trichothecenes in the silkworm infection assay with Candida albicans.

Uchida R, Namiguchi S, Ishijima H, Tomoda H

The silkworm infection assay is a useful method for directly evaluating the in vivo therapeutic effects of drug candidates. In the present study, 3 known trichothecenes, trichodermin, epiisororidin E, and verrucarin A, were evaluated as antifungal agents in the silkworm-Candida albicans assay. Trichodermin and epiisororidin E yielded effective therapeutic effects, while verrucarin A exhibited no efficacy in this assay system. These results strongly suggest that trichodermin and epiisororidin E are the lead compounds for developing a new antifungal agent.

Full Text: