Frontier in Antifungal Treatments Against Major Human Fungal Opportunistic Pathogen Candida Species and Medically Important Fungi

The extensive uses of antifungal agents to treat fungal infections have created a global public health issue of drug resistance. Candida species and other pathogenic mycoses are the leading causes of invasive fungal infections and high mortality rate in human population. A limited number of antifungal agents show fungicidal effect; repetitive uses of fungistatic drugs lead to the development of drug resistance. New antifungal agents with a broader spectrum of activity and novel mechanisms of action have been recently developed to fight against resistant fungal strains and clinical isolates. This would create a possibility to investigate antifungal combinations in vitro, in yeast and in animal models. If the drugs have different mechanisms of action, increased drug potency and efficacy with reduced toxicity may be rewarded. Recently, there are several investigational antifungal agents on repurposing drugs and natural products from different sources––plants, microbial, and marines––which may be considered when designing antifungal drug combinations. Imminently, more classes of antifungals from natural products may be added to the current antifungal armamentarium. Therefore, the new frontier of combination therapy and natural drug discovery should continue to be pursued with anticipation while excessive and repetitive antifungal usage shall be refrained.