Inhibition of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus biofilms by centipede oil and linoleic acid

Abstract

Microbial biofilms are associated with persistent infections because of their high tolerance to antimicrobial agents and host defenses. The effects of centipede oil from Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans and its main components were investigated to identify non-toxic biofilm inhibitors. Centipede oil and linoleic acid at 20 µg ml⁻¹ markedly inhibited biofilm formation by two fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans strains and three Staphylococcus aureus strains without affecting their planktonic cell growth. Also, both centipede oil and linoleic acid inhibited hyphal growth and cell aggregation by C. albicans. In addition, centipede oil and linoleic acid showed anti-biofilm activities against mixed C. albicans and S. aureus biofilms. Transcriptomic analysis showed that centipede oil and linoleic acid downregulated the expressions of several hypha/biofilm-related genes in C. albicans and α-hemolysin in S. aureus. Furthermore, both compounds effectively reduced C. albicans virulence in a nematode infection model with minimal toxicity.

Keywords:

• Biofilm
• Candida albicans
• centipede oil
• hyphae
• linoleic acid
• Staphylococcus aureus

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the Basic Science Research Program through the NRF funded by the Korean Ministry of Education (#2019R1C1C1008329 to Y.-G. Kim), by a grant from the Priority Research Centers Program through the NRF also funded by the Korean Ministry of Education (#2014R1A6A1031189), and by a grant from Korea institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (IPET) through Innovational Food Technology Development Program, funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) (#119034-3).