NEWS UPDATE FROM ARIZONA'S BIOTECH

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A fungus would seem to be the last place to find a fungicide, but two

separate research teams recently analyzed fungi and successfully

identified two potent antifungal substances.Infections like Athlete's

foot and Candida that are caused by fungus, which is a parasitic

plant lacking in chlorophyll, leaves and true stems and roots, spread

easily and are often difficult to cure.In people with compromised

immune systems, such as AIDS patients, fungal infections can be life

threatening. Scientists hope the new fungicides will lead to better

treatments.Since the fungicides also target plant molds, they may

also lead to safer, more effective fruit and vegetable sprays in

future.For the first study, recently published in the Journal of

Applied Microbiology, lead author J.Y. Liu and researchers from

Nanjing University in China studied marine fungi that reside in a

fish called the white croaker,Argyrosomus argentatus, They extracted

the fungi from various tissues of the fish and then tested it on the

three most common opportunistic human fungal pathogens.These are

Candida albicans, which often leads to yeast infections in

women;Aspergillus niger, which is commonly associated with ear

infections; and Trichophyton rubrum, which causes " jock itch " and

other skin infections.One fungus from the fish, called Myrothecium,

successfully wiped out the entire trio of tenacious pathogens.Liu and

his team believe this fish fungus produces a natural poison that

slows down protein and nucleic acid production in the pathogens. This

likely leads to their eventual demise.For the second study, published

in a recent Peptides journal, Hexiang Wang of Beijing's China

Agricultural University and co-author T. B. Ng discovered an

antifungal protein in the medical mushroom Ganoderma lucidum, more

commonly known as the Reishi mushroom.In tests, the mushroom protein

wiped out three fungi that commonly cause the gray, green or black

moldy rot found on fruits and vegetables. It also cleared up a fungus

associated with human fingernail and skin infections.The findings

suggest that in the future, farmers and gardeners might spray a

mushroom-derived concoction on their plants to kill and inhibit

mold.According to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New

York, prior studies found that Reishi increases immune-boosting T-

cells in patients suffering from advanced cancer.The mushroom may

also stimulate the immune systems of HIV patients and others, but it

can interfere with prescribed drugs, so health care professionals

advise that individuals consult with their doctors before taking

Reishi. is an expert in Chinese medicine and

acupuncture at Berkeley's Elephant Pharmacy, which offers one of the

nation's largest selections of alternative medicines. told

Discovery News that she was not surprised that fungicide could be

found in a fungus, since she said Chinese medical practitioners often

look to the cause of an illness for its treatment. " If the research

proves to be true, then it will be helpful to us because fungal

infections are so difficult to clear up, " she said. " Black walnut and

tea tree oil are two popular alternative medicine treatments now, but

even they do not always work. " added, " Since Reishi is a

mushroom, it is also less scary to us because we are familiar with

edible mushrooms.It is hard for me to say to someone, 'Here is your

bowl of huangqi,' (a root used to treat fatigue) because the

individual probably has no idea what that is. Medical mushrooms seem

to be more widely

acceptable. "