Antifungal activity of selenium nanoparticles and selenium disulfide against two Malassezia species

Yeasts of the genus Malassezia are lipophilic fungi of the normal skin flora of humans and other warm-blooded animals, but they may also be the cause of skin disorders, including dandruff and seborrhoeic dermatitis [Aggarwal ,et al.,2003; Anwar et al.,2016; Roques ,et al.,2006; Rudramurthy et al.,2014]. Seborrhoeic dermatitis (SD), covering areas of the scalp, face and trunk, is a superficial inflammatory skin disorder, which affects 1%10% of the population[Roques et al., 2006]. These diseases are treated with antimycotic shampoos containing various antifungal agents, including selenium disulfide (SeS2), which has antifungal activity against a variety of fungi, including Malasseziaspp[Aggarwal ,et al., 2003; Chu et al., 1984; McGinley et al., 1982; Van Cutsem et al.,1990]. A low concentration of selenium is essential to living organisms [Kitajima et al., 2013]. As a trace element, it is incorporated in the amino acids of selenoproteins and antioxidant enzymes and it protects cells from free radicals. However, in higher concentration, it inhibits fungal growth[Keiliszek et al., 2015; Kitajima et al., 2013] The reason for the antifungal activity of selenium inMalassezia has not been studied but Wu et al [Wu et al., 2014] found that a high concentration of selenium damages the cellular oxygen-eliminating system ofPenicilliumexpansum, which leads to an increase in the production of intracellular ROS. In P. expansum, the inhibitory effect is related to the selenium concentration used[Wu et al.,2014]. SeS2 has been shown to have antifungal activity against Malassezia[Aggarwal ,et al., 2003,McGinley et al., 1982]. However, after treatment with antifungal agents, including SeS2, SD tends to relapse. Aggarwal et al treated 20 SD patients once a week for three weeks with 2.5% SeS2 shampoo and one month after therapy found that three of the patients had mild or considerable residual disease. There is a need for finding more effective compounds for the treatment of S.D. and investigating the reason for the recurrence of infection after SeS2 treatment. Antifungal Activity of Selenium Nanoparticles and Selenium Disulfide against Two Malassezia Species Research Article Open Access American Research Journal of Dermatology Volume 1, Issuse 1, pp: 22-28