EFFECT OF SIMVASTATIN ON THE GROWTH INHIBITION OF Candida albicans

Resumo

Yeasts of the Candida genus often interact in a commensal colo-niser of humans. However, in certain conditions they can cause infections such as superficial or systemic candidiasis, which are responsible for high mortality rates because of ineffective diagno-ses and treatments. The mechanisms associated with the virulence of Candida albicans must be understood since they have acquired growing importance due to their increased resistance to drugs such as Fluconazole and Amphotericin B, both commonly used in therapeutic hospital routines. The present study evaluated the sen-sibility of isolated C. albicans to simvastatin, which acts on the ergosterol of the plasma membrane of this fungus. The sensitivity profile of the isolated C. albicans ATCC 90028 to simvastatin was determined by the agar diffusion methodology. The concen-tration of simvastatin used ranged from 78 to 2500μg.mL-1. The results obtained demonstrated that simvastatin has great potential for being used against C. albicans.