ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF CINNAMALDEHYDE AGAINST CANDIDA ALBICANS.

Candida albicans is a common pathogen, especially among immunocompromised patients. It is beginning to show resistance against the azole drug group, which is usually used to treat this pathogen. We studied the antifungal effects of cinnamaldehyde against C. albicans. Germ tube formation of C. albicans exposed to cinnamaldehyde was determined by the crystal violet based method. The effect of cinnamaldehyde on adhesion of C. albicans to buccal epithelial cells was investigated. Proteinase and phospholipase activities of C. albicans in the presence of cinnamaldehyde were assessed using bovine serum albumin agar and egg yolk agar, respectively. In this study, cinnamaldehyde possessed antifungal activity against C. albicans with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 125 µg/ml. At sub-inhibitory concentrations, cinnamaldehyde significantly reduced germ tube formation, proteinase and phospholipase activities in a dose dependent manner (p<0.01). Cinnamaldehyde also significantly inhibited the adhesion of C. albicans to buccal epithelial cells (p<0.01). In our study, cinnamaldehyde had in vitro activity against C. albicans and inhibited some of its virulence factors.

Prognostic improvement of patients with advanced liver cancer after active hexose correlated compound (AHCC) treatment.

Most patients with liver cancer are diagnosed when they are not suitable for resection. Although some palliative approaches can be applied to these patients, the overall survival rate remains unsatisfactory. Active hexose correlated compound (AHCC), a newly developed functional food, has been shown to act as a potent biological response modifier in in vitro experiments. Recently, AHCC was found to improve the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients following surgical treatment. We investigated whether AHCC could prolong survival and improve the prognosis of patients with advanced liver cancer. A prospective cohort study was performed with 44 patients with histologically confirmed liver cancer. All of the patients underwent supportive care. Survival time, quality of life, clinical and immunological parameters related to liver function, cellular immunity, and patient status were determined. Of the 44 patients, 34 and 10 received AHCC and placebo (control) orally, respectively. Patients in the AHCC treated-group had a significantly prolonged survival when compared to the control group by Mann-Whitney test (95% CI, p = 0.000). Quality of life in terms of mental stability, general physical health status, and ability to have normal activities were significantly improved after 3 months of AHCC treatment when tested using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (on one-sided test, p = 0.028, 0.037, and 0.040, respectively). The apparent different clinical parameters between the two groups were the levels of albumin and percentage of lymphocytes with p-values of 0.000 and 0.026 at 1 and 2 months after treatment, respectively. Unlike the control patients, AHCC treated-patients with longer survival time had the tendency of better outcomes since the levels of AST and ALT had not increased rapidly from their baselines at follow-up. In addition, the levels of total IL-12 and neopterin were slightly increased in AHCC treated-patients. This study suggests that AHCC intake could prolong the survival and improve the prognosis of patients with advanced liver cancer and delay the gradual decline of their physiological status.

Factor V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A mutations in Thai patients awaiting kidney transplant.

Renal transplantation provides the best long-term treatment for chronic renal failure, but thrombosis of the transplanted renal artery or renal vein is one of the causes of kidney failure in the early postoperative period. Factor V Leiden (FVL) and prothrombin G20210A mutation are the most frequent genetic abnormalities associated with venous thrombosis. We investigated the prevalence of FVL and prothrombin G20210A by polymerase chain reaction with restriction fragment length polymorphism in 75 Thai patients awaiting renal transplant, and a control group of 106 healthy blood donors. Of those awaiting renal transplant, none was found to carry FVL or prothrombin G20210A mutations. Neither the heterozygous nor the homozygous FVL mutation nor the prothrombin G20210A mutation was detected in the 106 healthy volunteers. Although we failed to detect FVL and prothrombin G20210A mutation among those waiting for a kidney transplant, the population size was small. Further studies need to be performed in order to ascertain if these coagulation mutations are of relevance in predicting patients at risk of early transplant failure.