Asian Journal of Research in Biosciences

Candida species are a group of fungi that can cause infections in humans. These fungi are commonly found in nature and on human skin, but can cause infections in immunocompromised individuals. Candida can affect various areas such as the mouth, throat, vagina, and blood, leading to different clinical manifestations. Candida species include C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C. tropicalis, and many more. In the recent decade, several studies bring into light the Identification of Candida-specific drug targets which enables targeted therapies with minimal impact on the host, Effective drug targets can disrupt essential fungal processes, leading to efficient elimination of the infection, Specific protein targets in Candida to reduce the chances of off-target effects often associated with broad-spectrum antifungal agents. Common targets in Candida include fungal cell wall, ergosterol biosynthesis to disrupt fungal membrane integrity and protein synthesis pathways. Current challenges in antifungal therapy include resistance to antifungal drug candidates, host immune reactions and drug- induced toxic effects. Mechanism for antifungal drug resistance comprises drug efflux pump, target modification and drug catabolism, biofilm formation. To overcome these challenges, drug discovery approaches concentrate on quorum sensing and quorum quenching based anti-virulence and host-fungal interaction kinetics to improve treatment strategies. Future goals of anticandidal therapy would nano-based pharmacophores, immunotherapies, natural product-based antifungals and personalized medicine to minimize host reactions against drugs. Hence, in this paper, we will explore the importance of drug targets and the challenges in antifungal therapy.