Therapeutic efficacy of chitosan against invasive candidiasis in mice

The prevalence of antibiotic resistance has resulted in the need for new approaches to be developed to combat the previously easily treatable infections. This work aims to evaluate the antifungal and antioxidant effects of the chitosan, as a new alternative or complementary anti-fungal drug, alone or in combination with amphotericin B against a pathogenic Candida albicans in mice. Eighty neutropenic infected mice were randomly assigned into four main groups (20 mice/group). The 1st group was treated with saline, neutropenic infected (NI group) (IPC group, invasive pulmonary candidiasis), the 2nd group was treated with chitosan (ED₅₀) (CE group), the 3rd group was treated with amphotericin B (150 mg/kg) (AMB group) and the 4th group was treated with chitosan plus amphotericin B (CE + AMB group). Treatment was started at 24 h after fungal inoculation and was administered for 3 consecutive days. All the previous treatments demonstrated notable growth inhibition against a C. albicans isolate as indicated by measuring the mean diameter of the inhibition zone. Compared with IPC group, CE, AMB, and AMB + CE-treated animals had 73%, 87%, and 90% reduction in fungal burden, respectively. Furthermore, treatment with CE and/or AMB for 24 and 72 h significantly decreased MDA, SOD, CAT and NO levels and increased GSH and in the lung tissues as compared with the infected untreated group. In conclusion, CE treatment, with the combination of antifungal therapy, can alleviate oxidative stress and lung injury associated with IPC in neutropenic mice.