An Antifungal Peptide from the Bark of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. Effective Against Candida albicans In Vitro

Antimicrobial peptides can inhibit the growth of bacteria, fungi, plant pathogens, and even viruses. They have potent pharmaceutical effects. Plant antimicrobial peptides may be the new source of antibiotics. The bark of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. is used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Eucommia antifungal peptide, termed EAFP, was isolated using a procedure involving 0.5 M NaCl extraction and gel filtration chromatography on a Sephadex G-50 column. SDS-PAGE revealed that the molecular weight of the EAFP was 4.2 kDa, and its partial amino acid sequence is PCNAGLCCSIYGYCGSGNAYCGAGNCR; this was determined by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The EAFP exerted an inhibitory effect against Candida albicans in vitro, and its minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 156 μg/ml. The research results suggest that the EAFP may be used as a novel antibiotic drug of plant origin for the prevention of candidiasis.