Antifungal and antioxidant activities of the phytomedicine pipsissewa, Chimaphila umbellata

Phytochemistry. 2008 Feb;69(3):738-46. doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2007.09.007. Epub 2007 Oct 22.

Abstract

Bioassay-guided fractionation of Chimaphila umbellata (L.) W. Bart (Pyrolaceae) ethanol extracts led to the identification of 2,7-dimethyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (chimaphilin) as the principal antifungal component. The structure of chimaphilin was confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The antifungal activity of chimaphilin was evaluated using the microdilution method with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (0.05mg/mL) and the dandruff-associated fungi Malassezia globosa (0.39mg/mL) and Malassezia restricta (0.55mg/mL). Pronounced antioxidant activity of C. umbellata crude extract was also identified using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay, suggesting this phytomedicine has an antioxidant function in wound healing. A chemical-genetic profile was completed with chimaphilin using approximately 4700 S. cerevisiae gene deletion mutants. Cellular roles of deleted genes in the most susceptible mutants and secondary assays indicate that the targets for chimaphilin include pathways involved in cell wall biogenesis and transcription.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antifungal Agents / chemistry
  • Antifungal Agents / isolation & purification
  • Antifungal Agents / pharmacology*
  • Antioxidants / chemistry
  • Antioxidants / isolation & purification
  • Antioxidants / pharmacology*
  • Biphenyl Compounds / chemistry
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Hydrazines / chemistry
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / methods
  • Malassezia / classification
  • Malassezia / drug effects*
  • Malassezia / growth & development
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Molecular Structure
  • Naphthoquinones / chemistry
  • Naphthoquinones / isolation & purification
  • Naphthoquinones / pharmacology*
  • Picrates
  • Pyrolaceae / chemistry*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / drug effects*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / growth & development
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Antifungal Agents
  • Antioxidants
  • Biphenyl Compounds
  • Hydrazines
  • Naphthoquinones
  • Picrates
  • 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl
  • chimaphilin