Antifungal Potential of Bioactive Compounds Derived from Microbes and Other Natural Sources: Challenges and Future Scope

The discovery of novel antifungal drugs has lagged behind in comparison to antibacterial and antitumor research. COVID-19-associated fungal epidemic had a deadly impact on the suffering patients. The rising cases of Mucormycosis and Aspergillosis in COVID-19 patients have raised concern in the scientific community regarding the discovery of fungicidal compounds with novel modes of action. Currently practiced antifungal compounds are either facing resistance or showing fungistatic effects. These challenges can only be tackled by the discovery of novel and promising antifungal compounds. This review article includes the study of different challenges in currently practiced antifungal therapy and the future scope of antifungal drug development. Major drawbacks in currently used antifungal compounds are resistance in microbes, the fungistatic nature of compounds, and hepatotoxic, nephrological, and endocrinal side effects in the host. The discovery of novel and safe antifungal bioactive compounds from natural sources may be an effective approach. Currently, major bioactive compounds are extracted from bacteria, fungi, and plants. Tapping unexplored habitats to find potential species may be helpful for the discovery of sustainable bioactive compounds. Moreover, the use of effective and stable chitinases in antifungal drug development may be the turning point in tackling all the challenging aspects.