Antifungal activity of chalcones: a mechanistic study using various yeast strains.

We reported the synthesis, antifungal evaluation and study on substituent effects of 21 chalcones. A lot of genetically defined strains belonging to different yeast genera and species, namely Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Hansenula polymorpha and Kluyveromyces lactis, were used as test organisms. Concerning the mode of the antifungal action of chalcones it was shown that DNA was probably not the main target for the chalcones. It was revealed that the yeast's intracellular glutathione and cysteine molecules play significant role as defence barrier against the chalcone action. It was also shown that chalcones may react with some proteins involved in cell separation.