Table 11.

The antifungal activity of chalcones.

Compound(s) “Chemical name(s)”		Fungal species	Study model(s)	Results	Inhibition mechanism	Refs.
Dihydrochromane–chalcone derivatives “(2E)-1,3-diphenylprop-2-en-1-one”		Botrytis cinerea and Monilinia fructicola	In vitro	IC50 against B. cinerea: 43.9 and against M. fructicola: 48.5 μg/mL	Mycelial growth inhibition (for B. cinerea) modulated by the atomic charge on C5 and the hydrogen bonding acceptor and donor. Modification of the inhibitory properties (for M. fructicola) via dipole moment and the carbonyl carbon and the atomic charge on C1′.	[143]
Chalcones synthesized from natural acetophenone “(E)-3-(furan-2-yl)-1-(2-hydroxy3,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one” “(E)-1-(2-hydroxy-3,4,6- trimethoxyphenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one”		Candida albicans LABMIC 0105 and C. albicans LABMIC 0107	In vitro	MIC: 0.62 and 0.31 mg/mL, respectively	Similar to the mode of action of amphotericin B.	[144]
2-Hydroxychalcone “(E)-3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one”		Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Paracoccidioides lutzii	In vitro	MIC: 0.06 and 0.12 μg/mL, respectively	Reaction between the internal stage of the formulation and lipid membrane molecules such as ergosterol, destabilizing fungi integrity, and the disruption of the fungal membrane leading to its death.	[145]
Azulene-containing chalcone “(E)-1,3-Di(azulen-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one”		Candida parapsilosis	In vitro	MIC: 0.156 mg/mL	N/A	[146]
Polyoxygenated chalcones “1-Phenyl-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one” “1-(2,5-Dimethoxyphenyl)-3-phenyl-prop-2-en-1-one”		C. albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans	In vitro	IC50: 50 and 125 μg/mL against C. albicans; 15.6 and 7.8 μg/mL against C. neoformans, respectively	Anticryptococcal activity mediated by the methylation of the 3-OH of the B ring and the substitution pattern of the A ring.	[147]
“(E) 2,3-dyhydroxy-chalcone”		C. albicans isolates 1-9	In vitro	MIC: 16.24 for isolate 1 and MFC: 32.54 μM for isolate 1	N/A	[148]
“(2E)-1-(4′-aminophenyl)-3-(phenyl)-prop-2- en-1-one”		Trichophyton rubrum (LAMBIC 0208)	In vitro	MIC: 0.07 and MFC: 0.015–1.25 μg/mL	Inhibition activity mediated by the phenyl group and electron-withdrawing groups such as fluorine and chlorine, the existence of a heterocyclic ring, hydroxy and methoxy groups on ring A, and the nitro group on ring B.	[149]
Ferrocenyl chalcone-based dimethyl-substituted derivative “1-Ferrocenyl-3-(3,4dimethylphenyl)-3- (phenylsulfonyl)propan-1-one”		Aspergillus niger, C. albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida tropicalis, Cryptococcus neoformans, and C. parapsilosis	In vitro	MIC: 3.9, 7.8, 10.5, 3.9, 7.81, and 15.5 μg/mL, respectively	N/A	[152]
“(E)-3-(4′-diethylaminophenyl)” “(E)-3-(2′-ethoxyphenyl)” “(E)-3-(3′,4′-diethoxyphenyl)” “(E)-3-(2′,3′-dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)” “(E)-3-(3′,5′-bis[trifluoromethyl]phenyl)-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl) prop-2-en-1-one”	C. albicans, C. tropicalis, Candida stellatoidea, Candida pseudotropicalis and Candida krusei	In vitro	MIC:25–50 μg/mL	Improvement of inhibitory activity by the 4′-(diethylamino) substituents, which is a potent electron-donating group.	[138]

MIC: Minimum Inhibitory, MFC: Fungicidal Concentrations, IC50: Half maximal inhibitory concentration.