New Anti-dandruff Target Identified

In a recent study published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, researchers found that an enzyme from the dandruff-causing pathogen Malassezia globosa provides a potential new anti-dandruff target. According to the article abstract, β-carbonic anhydrase, designated MG-CA, was found to impart significant catalytic activity in the carbon dioxide hydration reaction, which was inhibited by sulfonamides, sulfamates and sulfamides with Ki in the nanomolar to micromolar range.

According to Medwire News, the team found that 67% of mice treated with a 4-(2-aminoethyl)benzenesulfonamide 5% solution demonstrated significant clinical improvement. However, the experimental compound was not as effective as ketoconazole, as all the mice treated with this antifungal had significant clinical improvement.using a variety of sulfonamide-related compounds.

The researchers tested the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) required to inhibit β-carbonic anhydrases of several Malassezia spp. and the lowest MIC observed was 10 µg/mL, with inhibitory activity against all species tested. A few compounds had high MIC values (640 µg/mL) but the team attributes this possibly to low cell permeability, a frequent problem with cell based assays.

The data suggests MG-CA could serve as a new antidandruff target, presenting a new option for future hair care product development, and potential antimicrobial applications.

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