Hydrocinnamic Acid From Candida albicans : Isolation, Characterization, and Antibacterial Activity Against Multidrug‐Resistant Bacteria

Microbial secondary metabolites remain an important source of structurally diverse bioactive compounds with huge therapeutic potential. Yeasts, particularly Candida albicans , possess remarkable metabolic plasticity; thus, it paves the way for identifying antibacterial substances from their extracellular metabolome as it remains underexplored. In the present study, a semi‐preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and optimized for the efficient isolation and purification of hydrocinnamic acid (3‐phenylpropionic acid) from the extracellular metabolite extract of C. albicans . The purified compound was characterized using UV–Vis, FTIR, NMR ( 1 H and 13 C), GC–MS, and X‐ray diffraction analyses. This study represents the first report of hydrocinnamic acid isolated and purified from the extracellular metabolites of C. albicans . The antibacterial potential of the purified hydrocinnamic acid was assessed against multidrug‐resistant (MDR) strains of Staphylococcus aureus , Enterobacter cloacae , and Escherichia coli , which exhibited concentration‐dependent inhibition against all tested pathogens, with distinct activity against S. aureus and E. cloacae . The minimum inhibitory concentrations were 10 μg/mL for S. aureus , 15 μg/mL against E. cloacae , and 40 μg/mL against E. coli . Collectively, these results underscore the unexplored antibacterial potential of C. albicans ‐derived extracellular metabolites and position hydrocinnamic acid as a promising natural candidate for combating multidrug‐resistant bacteria.