ABSTRACT Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen reported to cause both systemic and mucosal infections. The characteristic morphological transition and complex biofilm formation significantly contribute to its virulence and resistance to antifungal agents. This increases the pressing demand for new, safe antifungal agents. This study examined the anti‐biofilm and anti‐virulence activities of C‐Phycocyanin (C‐PC), a natural photosynthetic pigment protein produced from Spirulina. C‐PC demonstrated an inhibitory effect on biofilm formation in a dose‐dependent manner with a minimal biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) of 256 μg/mL with less fungicidal action against planktonic C. albicans cells. The yeast‐to‐hyphae transition is crucial to its virulence and is a critically important virulence trait for pathogenic morphogenesis. This transition in morphogenesis has been disturbed by C‐PC treatment, suggesting that C‐PC challenges its ability to invade and survive. It also demonstrated decreased biofilm‐associated characteristics, including wrinkle development, filamentous growth, and exopolysaccharide production. Furthermore, C‐PC interfered with the defense system of C. albicans by significantly reducing agar invasion, decreasing secreted phospholipase activity, and promoting oxidative stress by reducing catalase production. The obtained results collectively show that C‐PC could be a potential natural compound that alters key virulence traits in C. albicans .
Samsudeen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.