In Vitro Activity of Organoselenium Compounds Against Trichophyton spp.
5 affiliations
- 1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências das Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina (FAMED), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande 96200-200, RS, Brazil.
- 2Hospital Universitário Dr. Miguel Riet Corrêa Jr. (HU-FURG/Empresa Brasileira de Serviços Hospitalares-EBSERH), Rio Grande 96200-190, RS, Brazil.
- 3Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Parasitologia e Micologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre 90050-170, RS, Brazil.
- 4Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria 97105-900, RS, Brazil.
- 5Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Dermatophytosis is among the most prevalent fungal infections worldwide, and the emergence of antifungal resistance highlights the need for novel the-rapeutic strategies. Organoselenium compounds have demonstrated promising antifungal activity against several pathogenic fungi, although their activity against dermatophytes remains poorly explored. Here we investigate the in vitro antifungal activity of four organoselenium compounds, ebselen, diphenyl diselenide [(PhSe)₂], p-methoxy-diphenyl diselenide (BMD), and bis-(3-trifluoromethyl phenyl) diselenide (CF₃). Methods: Eighteen clinical isolates belonging to the T. mentagrophytes (n = 10) and T. rubrum (n = 8) species complexes were studied and potential synergism with fluconazole (FCZ) also explored. Antifungal susceptibility testing and drug interaction were performed according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute broth microdilution protocols and checkerboard assay, respectively. Results: Ebselen, (PhSe)₂, and BMD inhibited all Trichophyton spp. isolates with a geometric mean (GM) of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) less than or equal to 6 µg/mL. CF₃ inhibited 78% (14/18) of the isolates and had higher MICs (GM ≥ 43.5 µg/mL). Combination assays revealed synergistic interactions between FCZ and the organoselenium compounds, ranging from 45% to 89%, without antagonistic interactions. Moreover, FCZ activity was enhanced in 57-86% of resistant isolates, with BMD showing the most favorable profile in combination with FCZ. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the promising antifungal potential of organoselenium compounds against the major dermatophytes associated with human infection and support further investigation of these compounds, particularly ebselen, (PhSe)₂, and BMD, as novel antifungal agents, either alone or in combination with conventional antifungal drugs.
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BibTeX
@article{cardoso2026vitro,
title = {{In Vitro Activity of Organoselenium Compounds Against Trichophyton spp.}},
author = {Beatriz de Souza Cardoso and Mônica Campos Dos Santos and Mariana Rodrigues Trápaga and Cecília Bittencourt Severo and Jéssica Estefania Dávila Hidalgo and Gilson Zeni and Cristina Wayne Nogueira and David A Stevens and Melissa Orzechowski Xavier and Vanice Rodrigues Poester},
journal = {Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/antibiotics15101018},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42938759},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - In Vitro Activity of Organoselenium Compounds Against Trichophyton spp.
AU - Beatriz de Souza Cardoso
AU - Mônica Campos Dos Santos
AU - Mariana Rodrigues Trápaga
AU - Cecília Bittencourt Severo
AU - Jéssica Estefania Dávila Hidalgo
AU - Gilson Zeni
AU - Cristina Wayne Nogueira
AU - David A Stevens
AU - Melissa Orzechowski Xavier
AU - Vanice Rodrigues Poester
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/antibiotics15101018
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42938759
AB - Background/Objectives: Dermatophytosis is among the most prevalent fungal infections worldwide, and the emergence of antifungal resistance highlights the need for novel the-rapeutic strategies. Organoselenium compounds have demonstrated promising antifungal activity against several pathogenic fungi, although their activity against dermatophytes remains poorly explored. Here we investigate the in vitro antifungal activity of four organoselenium compounds, ebselen, diphenyl diselenide [(PhSe)₂], p-methoxy-diphenyl diselenide (BMD), and bis-(3-trifluoromethyl phenyl) diselenide (CF₃). Methods: Eighteen clinical isolates belonging to the T. mentagrophytes (n = 10) and T. rubrum (n = 8) species complexes were studied and potential synergism with fluconazole (FCZ) also explored. Antifungal susceptibility testing and drug interaction were performed according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute broth microdilution protocols and checkerboard assay, respectively. Results: Ebselen, (PhSe)₂, and BMD inhibited all Trichophyton spp. isolates with a geometric mean (GM) of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) less than or equal to 6 µg/mL. CF₃ inhibited 78% (14/18) of the isolates and had higher MICs (GM ≥ 43.5 µg/mL). Combination assays revealed synergistic interactions between FCZ and the organoselenium compounds, ranging from 45% to 89%, without antagonistic interactions. Moreover, FCZ activity was enhanced in 57-86% of resistant isolates, with BMD showing the most favorable profile in combination with FCZ. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the promising antifungal potential of organoselenium compounds against the major dermatophytes associated with human infection and support further investigation of these compounds, particularly ebselen, (PhSe)₂, and BMD, as novel antifungal agents, either alone or in combination with conventional antifungal drugs.
SN - 2079-6382
ER -