Antifungal efficacy of atorvastatin-containing emulgel in the treatment of oral and vulvovaginal candidiasis
Abstract
Drug repositioning has been an important ally in the search for new antifungal drugs. Statins are drugs that act to prevent sterol synthesis in both humans and fungi and for this reason they are promissory candidates to be repositioned to treat mycoses. In this study we evaluated the antifungal activity of atorvastatin by in vitro tests to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration against azole resistant Candida albicans and its mechanisms of action. Moreover, the efficacy of both atorvastatin-loaded oral and vaginal emulgels (0.75%, 1.5% and 3% w/w) was evaluated by means of in vivo experimental models of oral and vulvovaginal candidiasis, respectively. The results showed that atorvastatin minimal inhibitory concentration against C. albicans was 31.25 μg/ml. In oral candidiasis experiments, the group treated with oral emulgel containing 3.0% atorvastatin showcased total reduction in fungal load after nine days of treatment. Intravaginal delivery atorvastatin emulgel showed considerable effectiveness at the concentration of 3% (65% of fungal burden reduction) after nine days of treatment. From these findings, it is possible to assert that atorvastatin may be promising for drug repositioning towards the treatment of these opportunistic mycoses.
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Emulgels containing 3% ATV reduce fungal load by 65% after 9 days of treatment in a VVC model with Wistar rats.
“Additionally, De Oliveira Neto et al. [9] tested ATV in a VVC model with Wistar rats and reported that emulgels containing 3% ATV reduced the fungal load by 65% after 9 days of treatment.”
From Statins as Antifungal Agents: A Review on Drug Repurposing and Nanotechnology-Driven Delivery Strategies (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
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“The standard management of mucosal candidiasis relies primarily on azole antifungals, with polyenes used less frequently and typically administered either orally or topically [9].”
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- Authors
- de Oliveira Neto, A. S., Souza, I. L. A., Amorim, M. E. S., de Freitas Souza, T., Rocha, V. N., do Couto, R. O., Fabri, R. L., & de Freitas Araújo, M. G.
- Affiliations
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Federal University of São João Del-Rei, Campus Centro Oeste Dona Lindu, Divinópolis, MG, Brazil
- Federal University of São João del-Rei (BR)
- Bioactive Natural Products Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Campus, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Development, Federal University of São João Del-Rei, Campus Centro Oeste Dona Lindu, Divinópolis, MG, Brazil
- Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (BR)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Medical Mycology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2020-08-21
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 476-485
- ISSN
- 0268-1218 (ISSN-L)
- 1369-3786
- 1460-2709
- OpenAlex
- W3081082661
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 0.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- Medical Mycology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- CNPq
- FAPEMIG
- UFSJ
- CAPES
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Fungal Infections and Studies
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Advancements in Transdermal Drug Delivery
- Keywords
- atorvastatin, drug repurposing, statins, antifungal activity, Candida albicans, oral candidiasis, vaginal candidiasis, emulgel, vaginal drug delivery, azole resistance, minimum inhibitory concentration, sterol biosynthesis inhibition, opportunistic mycoses
- MeSH terms
- Atorvastatin, Animals, Antifungal Agents, Azoles, Candida albicans, Candidiasis, Oral, Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal, Disease Models, Animal, Female, Humans, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Treatment Outcome, Drug Resistance, Fungal, Mice, Rats, Drug Repositioning
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