Dandruff Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dandruff, including details on treatment, prevention, remedies, causes, scalp health.

Antifungal and antioxidant activities of the phytomedicine pipsissewa, Chimaphila umbellata.

Galván IJ, Mir-Rashed N, Jessulat M, Atanya M, Golshani A, Durst T, Petit P, Amiguet VT, Boekhout T, Summerbell R, Cruz I, Arnason JT, Smith ML

Chemistry Department, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Av. Universidad 940, Ags., CP 20100 México, Mexico.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of Chimaphila umbellata (L.) W. Bart (Pyrolaceae) ethanol extracts led to the identification of 2,7-dimethyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (chimaphilin) as the principal antifungal component. The structure of chimaphilin was confirmed by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The antifungal activity of chimaphilin was evaluated using the microdilution method with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (0.05mg/mL) and the dandruff-associated fungi Malassezia globosa (0.39mg/mL) and Malassezia restricta (0.55mg/mL). Pronounced antioxidant activity of C. umbellata crude extract was also identified using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay, suggesting this phytomedicine has an antioxidant function in wound healing. A chemical-genetic profile was completed with chimaphilin using approximately 4700 S. cerevisiae gene deletion mutants. Cellular roles of deleted genes in the most susceptible mutants and secondary assays indicate that the targets for chimaphilin include pathways involved in cell wall biogenesis and transcription.

Published 28 January 2008 in Phytochemistry, 69(3): 738-46.
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