Characterization of a novel antimycotic agent, cinnamyl benzoate, using yeast-phase Sporothrix schenckii.

Cinnamyl benzoate specifically inhibited the growth of yeast-phase cells of the pathogenic fungus Sporothrix schenckii. A commercially available antimycotic agent, miconazole nitrate, released large amounts of K(+) and Pi from S. schenckii probably due to it damaging the cell membrane, but no such release was observed with cinnamyl benzoate or with another commercial antimycotic agent, Tolnaftate. The sterol content of cells treated with cinnamyl benzoate and Tolnaftate was decreased and large amounts of squalene accumulated in the cells. Cinnamyl benzoate may therefore inhibit sterol synthesis in S. schenckii.