African Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 5(9), pp. 1123-1125, 4 May, 2011 Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/ajmr ISSN 1996-0808 ©2011 Academic Journals Short Communication Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit growth of yeast pathogens Desmond M. Ncango 1 , Carolina H. Pohl 1 , Pieter W. J. van Wyk 2 and Johan L. F. Kock 1 * 1 UNESCO MIRCEN, Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, P. O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9301, South Africa. 2 Centre for Microscopy, University of the Free State, P. O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9301, South Africa. Accepted 10 May, 2011 Studies on yeasts exposed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) as potential anti-mitochondrial antifungals. In this study, various NSAIDs were tested for antifungal activity on the human yeast pathogens Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Our results suggest a dual action for these drugs, that is, antifungal as well as anti-inflammatory. These results could be useful in the treatment of fungal infections. Key words: Acetylsalicylic acid, antifungal, anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-mitochondrial, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Eremothecium ashbyi. INTRODUCTION Extensive studies conducted by the Kock group in South Africa showed that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), target yeast growth and especially structures with elevated mitochondrial activity (Kock et al., 2003, 2007). This NSAID also inhibits mitochondrial activity in mammalian cells (Somasundaram et al., 2000; Norman et al., 2004). However, apart from aspirin, the inhibitory effect of other NSAIDs on the human pathogens Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans has not been reported before. MATERIALS AND METHODS Strains used and cultivation C. albicans UOFS Y-0198 (isolated from a patient with interdigital mycosis) and C. neoformans var. neoformans UOFS Y-1378 (isolated from a human bone lesion) were used in the study and are preserved at the UNESCO Mircen Culture Collection, Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. All yeasts were streaked out on yeast-malt (YM) agar (Wickerham, 1951) and cultivated at 37°C in Petri dishes for 48 h. *Corresponding author. E-mail: Kockjl@ufs.ac.za. Tel: +27 (51) 401 2249. Fax: +27 (51) 444 3219. Bio-assay preparation Bio-assays of C. albicans and C. neoformans were separately prepared as described by Kock et al. (2009). Cells were scraped from YM-agar grown cultures and suspended in sterilized distilled water (dH2O) from where 0.2 ml were streaked out on YM-agar (0.5% m/v agar) to produce a uniform lawn completely covering the agar surface. A well of 0.5 cm in diameter and depth was constructed aseptically in the middle of the agar plate followed by the addition (46 μl) of the following anti-inflammatory compound solutions: Aspirin, Diclofenac, Diflunisal, Fenoprofen, Flufenamic acid, Ketorolac, Meclofenamic acid, Methyl salicylate, Naproxen, Salicylamide, Sulindac (Sigma-Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany), Benzoic acid (The British Drug Houses Ltd., Poole, England) – compound concentration: 8% m/v in ethanol (dissolved in 96% ethanol; Merck, Gauteng, South Africa). In addition, controls were constructed by the addition of similar amounts of only 96% ethanol to wells. All plates were incubated at 37°C for 48 h. Since the bio- assay has been evaluated as a qualitative screen for compounds with specialized antifungal activity, no attempts were made at this stage to determine minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Previous studies revealed that C. albicans and C. neoformans produce aspirin-sensitive oxylipins which is indicative of mitochondrial activity (Kock et al., 2007). In these studies, treatment of strains with Aspirin inhibited not only oxylipin production but also growth.