Chalcone derivatives disrupt cell membrane integrity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells and alter their biochemical composition

Abstract

Fungal infections can be serious or life threatening in severe cases, and the need to discover and find novel antifungal agents persists. Chalcones are plant-derived aromatic compounds that have been appealing synthons for pharmaceutical industry as they have good anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. Although there are few structure-activity relationship studies on chalcones, studies that link the structural features of these compounds to their mode of action are scant. Thus, in this study, we aim to clarify the relationship between chalcone derivatives and their cellular target within the yeast cell Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We observed that some chalcone compounds lead to disruption of cell membrane and cause ion leakage out of the cell. Moreover, chalcones alter the biochemical composition of yeast cells detectable by FTIR spectroscopy and bind to the DNA as shown by our titration experiments based on UV-Vis absorbance spectroscopy. Thus, their interaction with the DNA may be the major impact of these compounds on yeast cells.