Investigation of the Antifungal and Anti-inflammatory Properties of Alpinia galanga Towards Epidermal Candida albicans Infection in HaCaT Cells

Abstract

Candida albicans is a yeast that resides on the human skin, however it can become an opportunistic pathogen when the immune system is compromised or there are imbalances in the microenvironment. This microorganism can cause candidiasis which is able to cause high mortality rates in especially immunocompromised patients. Treating this infection is highly difficult due to similarities in structure between the host and fungi as well as resistance to major antifungal drugs that continues to rise. Plants are often utilized as effective and applicable alternative medicine, including in fungal infection. Alpinia galanga is a rhizome with flavonoids that are antifungal and anti-inflammatory in nature, thus have potential as treatment of candidiasis. However, in previous studies difficulties in elucidating its active compounds led to unsuccessful results. This research aims to perform methanolic extraction of Alpinia galanga, assess its antifungal activity, cytotoxicity in epithelial or HaCaT cells, and determine its bioactive compounds. The assessment of antifungal properties done via disc diffusion, well diffusion, and MIC determination showed that Alpinia galanga did not exhibit any antifungal effect at concentrations from 62.5 μg/mL to 250 mg/mL. Furthermore, the extract obtained showed cytotoxic activity that caused more than 50% reduction of cell viability from concentrations of 12.5 mg/mL to 250 mg/mL, which is thought to be due to A. galanga causing DNA damage and cell death through increasing ROS levels. Methanolic extraction of A.galanga was able to yield alkaloids, terpenoids, and phenolics within the extract. The absence of flavonoids and saponins may contribute to the lack of antifungal activity as they are the main contributors of the antifungal nature of A. galanga. The phenolics and terpenoids obtained may cause cytotoxicity towards HaCaT cells. Anti-inflammatory properties of A. galanga were unable to be determined due to the lack of antifungal activity and the cytotoxic nature of the extract.