Isolation, functional characterization, and biological properties of MCh-AMP1, a novel antifungal peptide from Matricaria chamomilla L.

The antimicrobial activities of natural products have attracted much attention due to the increasing incidence of pathogens that have become resistant to drugs. Thus, it has been attempted to promisingly manage infectious diseases via a new group of therapeutic agents called antimicrobial peptides. In this study, a novel antifungal peptide, MCh-AMP1, was purified by reverse phase HPLC and sequenced by de novo sequencing and Edman degradation. The antifungal activity, safety, thermal, and pH stability of MCh-AMP1 were determined. This peptide demonstrated an antifungal activity against the tested Candida and Aspergillus species with MIC values in the range of 3.33-6.66 μM and 6.66-13.32 μM, respectively. Further, physicochemical properties and molecular modeling of MCh-AMP1 were evaluated. MCh-AMP1 demonstrated 3.65% hemolytic activity at the concentration of 13.32 μM on human red blood cells and 10% toxicity after 48 hr at the same concentration on HEK293 cell lines. The antifungal activity of MCh-AMP1 against Candida albicans was stable at a temperature range of 30-50°C and at the pH level of 7-11. The present study indicates that MCh-AMP1 may be considered as a new antifungal agent with therapeutic potential against major human pathogenic fungi.