Effect of the interaction between cyclodextrin and difenoconazole on the growth of mold causing serious fungal infections

Triazole molecules are used as antifungals in human medicine but also in agriculture to control fungi pathogenic to plants. In the environment, these phytosanitary products have an unintended impact on strains of Aspergillus fumigatus that cause serious infections in humans, inducing its resistance, as increasingly observed throughout the world. In this study, we showed that the use of cyclodextrins, natural molecules resulting from the enzymatic biodegradation of starch, significantly reduced the fungal activity of a triazole derivative, such as difenoconazole, on A. fumigatus. The use of cyclodextrins appears to be a promising approach toward limiting the emergence of resistance to triazole antifungals.