Research Article Antifungal Activity of Decyl Gallate against Several Species of Pathogenic Fungi Ana Carolina Alves de Paula e Silva, 1 Caroline Barcelos Costa-Orlandi, 1 Fernanda Patrícia Gullo, 1 Fernanda Sangalli-Leite, 1 Haroldo Cesar de Oliveira, 1 Julhiany de Fátima da Silva, 1 Liliana Scorzoni, 1 Nayla de Souza Pitangui, 1 Suélen Andrea Rossi, 1 Tatiane Benaducci, 1 Vanessa Gonçalves Wolf, 1 Luis Octávio Regasini, 2 Maicon Segalla Petrônio, 2 Dulce Helena Siqueira Silva, 2 Vanderlan S. Bolzani, 2 Ana Marisa Fusco-Almeida, 1 and Maria José Soares Mendes-Giannini 1 1 Departamento de An´ alises Cl´ ınicas, Faculdade de Ciˆ encias Farmacˆ euticas, Universidade Estadual Paulista J´ ulio Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Rodovia Araraquara-Ja´ u, km 1, 14 800 901 Araraquara, SP, Brazil 2 Departamento de Qu´ ımica Orgˆ anica, Instituto de Qu´ ımica, Universidade Estadual Paulista J´ ulio Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Rua Professor Francisco Degni, 55, Bairro Quitandinha, 14800-060 Araraquara, SP, Brazil Correspondence should be addressed to Ana Carolina Alves de Paula e Silva; ana alpasi@hotmail.com and Maria Jos´ e Soares Mendes-Giannini; gianninimj@gmail.com Received 11 June 2014; Revised 13 October 2014; Accepted 28 October 2014; Published 20 November 2014 Academic Editor: Jos´ e L. R´ ıos Copyright © 2014 Ana Carolina Alves de Paula e Silva et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Tis work aims to demonstrate that the gallic acid structure modifcation to the decyl gallate (G14) compound contributed to increase the antifungal activity against several species of pathogenic fungi, mainly, Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp., Paracoccidioides spp., and Histoplasma capsulatum, according to standardized microdilution method described by Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) documents. Moreover this compound has a particularly good selectivity index value, which makes it an excellent candidate for broad-spectrum antifungal prototype and encourages the continuation of subsequent studies for the discovery of its mechanism of action. 1. Introduction In the last two decades, there has been a rapid increase in the incidence of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) caused by fungal pathogens with diminished susceptibility or resistance to many standard antifungal agents. Te early treatment of IFIs is essential for optimal clinical outcomes. Te efec- tiveness of standard antifungal drugs (polyenes, azoles, and echinocandins) is not predictable against some emerging fungi and may cause undesirable side efects. Furthermore, the use of antifungals is ofen inappropriate, exposing patients to adverse efects, drug interactions, and the development of resistance to and super infections by other fungi, reducing their efectiveness and resulting in signifcant health expen- ditures. All of these factors are particularly problematic for immunocompromised (IC) or hospitalized patients with seri- ous underlying diseases [1–5]. Considering that the diagnosis of these diseases remains challenging and that treatment is suboptimal, it is difcult to identify and implement the correct therapies. Te use of modifed substances from natural compounds as prototypes of molecules for the treatment of diseases has increased abundantly in recent years. However, many of these products have no proven efcacy and safety. Te aim of this study was adding new results about the antifungal activity in vitro of 14 alkyl gallates against important pathogenic Hindawi Publishing Corporation Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2014, Article ID 506273, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/506273