Streptomyces griseus Versus Trichoderma viride Chitinase as an Anti-inflammatory and Antifungal Agent Against Human Pathogenic Fungi

Fungal pathogens cause over a billion human infections annually, leading to more than 1.6 million deaths each year. The scarcity of available antifungal drugs intensifies the public health threat posed by human pathogenic fungal infections. Therefore there is a critical demand for novel, safe, and effective antifungal agents. Although chitinases are established as effective antifungal agents against phytopathogenic fungi, research on their activity against human pathogenic fungi is limited. The present study seeks to investigate the anti-inflammatory and antifungal activity of bacterial and fungal chitinase against human pathogenic fungi. The antifungal efficacy of bacterial chitinase from Streptomyces griseus, fungal chitinase from Trichoderma viride, and a combination of both was determined by calculating the inhibition percentage in fungal growth, indicated by the reduction in the dry mass of the fungi. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory activity of these chitinases was assessed by measuring the inhibition of albumin denaturation. Results revealed that chitinases exhibited greater antifungal activity compared to the standard. Notably, bacterial chitinase demonstrated higher effectiveness than fungal chitinase against Aspergillus fumigatus, while the bacterial and fungal chitinase had similar effects against different Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida species. The combination of bacterial and fungal chitinase demonstrated the highest antifungal activity against all tested fungi. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory activity indicated that chitinases prevented 98% of albumin denaturation, marking the first study reporting the anti-inflammatory role of chitinases in preventing albumin denaturation. Additional in-vivo studies are necessary to explore the antifungal activity of chitinases against human pathogenic fungi and investigate the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of chitinase.