Progress in the Development of Fungal Metabolites as New Drugs for Human Mycoses

Fungi have a fascinating track record related to producing bioactive substances that have become medicines or inspired the synthesis of drug leads. On the other hand, there are several fungal species that cause damage to human health, agriculture, materials, and animals, some of which lead to conditions that can acquire great severity when reaching vital organs. Mycoses deserve special attention when they are installed in immunocompromised individuals, neonates, and patients debilitated by other diseases, as occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the development of antifungal drugs for several applications is very relevant worldwide. These drugs can be obtained through multiple strategies, highlighting the biosynthesis of antifungal metabolites by the fungi themselves. These metabolites are substances usually involved in the defense of a species that cohabitates in an environment where there are other fungi. Since these metabolites can be produced in vitro, their isolation, identification, and development as new antiviral drugs are an important area of research and drug development. This chapter presents an overview of some important fungal infections in humans, the drugs developed for the control of these microorganisms, mechanisms of action, chemical structures, and properties of some fungal metabolites with antifungal activity recently described in the literature, with potential application in pharma industry.