Light-mediated antifungal activity of Echinacea extracts

This study demonstrated that plant extracts containing acetylenic isobutylamides and polyacetylenes, previously reported as occurring in Echinacea, have phototoxic antimicrobial activity against fungi, including clinically relevant pathogenic fungi. Results show that hexane extracts of Echinacea variably inhibit growth of yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida shehata, C. kefyr, C. albicans, C. steatulytica and C. tropicalis under near UV irradiation (phototoxicity) and to a lower extent without irradiation (conventional antifungal acti