Document Type

Thesis

Date of Degree Completion

Spring 2010

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Chemistry

Committee Chair

Dr. Gil Belofsky, Department of Chemistry

Second Committee Member

Dr. Levente Fabry-Asztalos, Department of Chemistry

Third Committee Member

Dr. Audrey D. Huerta, Director Science Honors Research Program

Abstract

Fungal multidrug resistance is an emerging problem for those suffering from fungal infections, and for those seeking to discover or produce novel fungicidal drugs. Plants native to the Pacific Northwest as well as in the Olympic national rainforest were collected and screened for phytochemicals which exhibit direct antifungal activity toward Candida and Saccharomyces spp. as well as those that inhibit fungal ABC transporters that are, in large part, responsible for the development of multidrug resistance. Dalea formosa (Fabaceae), a plant native to the American Southwest, was also screened for phytochemicals of medicinal interest. The methanolic extract of aerial portions of D. formosa produced positive results as both a fungal efflux pump inhibitor and as a direct antifungal in preliminary biological testing. Successive chromatographic fractionation produced several known pure compounds, specifically quercetin, dihydroquercetin, and a quercetin methyl ether. Further testing revealed the quercetin methyl ether to have marginal direct activity (minimum inhibitory concentration, MIC = 61 µg/mL) against Candida glabrata. Additional extraction of the roots of the plant produced a previously unknown compound, along with several bioactive compounds that exhibited more potent activity (MICs < 15 µg/mL) against a range of fungal strains. Results of this study may lend insight into the mechanism of fungal multidrug resistance, as well as into the phytochemistry of several plants from the Pacific Northwest and Western United States.

Comments

This thesis has been digitized and made available as part of the University’s ongoing preservation and access initiatives. Copyright is retained by the original author. The University has made a good faith effort to review this work for copyright and privacy concerns prior to digitization. If you are the author or a rights holder and have questions, concerns or wish to request removal, please contact ScholarWorks@cwu.edu.

Download

Share

COinS