Antifungal Agents: Therapeutic Approaches and Future Perspectives

Fungi are versatile organisms that cause infectious diseases to millions of people. The disease caused by fungi are rapidly rising in immunocompromised patients. Commonly available antifungal drugs act on the cell wall and nucleic acid synthesis and, cell division. However, excessive use of the clinically available common antifungal drugs has led to the development of multidrug-resistant strains that no longer respond to treatment. The rapidly emerging multidrug-resistant Candida auris has caused severe infection and has become a serious burden on public health. Therefore, the search for new effective compounds especially from endophytes associated with medicinal plants that have a novel target and mechanism of action against the multidrug-resistant strains to combat the rapidly emerging infectious diseases caused by fungi, has become vital.

Keywords: Antifungal compounds, Candida auris, Fungal infections, Multidrugresistant, Pathogenesis, Symptoms, Treatment.