Table 4.
Probiotic-derived metabolites and their anti-Candida activities.
| Postbiotic/metabolite | Producing organism(s) | Mechanism of action | Effect on candida virulence traits | Effective against | Notes/additional insights | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lactic Acid | Lactobacillus rhamnosus, L. casei, L. acidophilus | Lowers environmental pH; inhibits yeast–hypha transition; disrupts membrane potential | Decrease hyphal formation, decrease adhesion, decrease early biofilm | C. albicans, C. glabrata | Drives acid stress to suppresses filamentation required for biofilm structure | Matsubara et al., 2016; Paniágua et al., 2021 |
| Capric Acid | Saccharomyces boulardii (postbiotic filtrate) | Inserts into fungal membranes; increases permeability; interrupts hyphal morphogenesis | Decrease filamentation, decrease adhesion, decrease mature biofilm biomass | C. albicans | One of the best-characterized postbiotic antifungals | Murzyn et al., 2010 |
| Short-Chain Fatty Acids | Lactic acid bacteria; gut probiotics | Metabolic uncoupling; inhibits respiration; modifies intracellular redox | Decrease growth rate, decrease biofilm thickness, decrease virulence | Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis | SCFAs modulate fungal metabolism and can synergize with antifungals | García-Gamboa et al., 2024; Pedro et al., 2023 |
| Biosurfactants | Lactobacillus plantarum, L. rhamnosus, L. reuteri | Reduce surface tension; inhibit adhesion to abiotic/biotic surfaces; disrupt cell–cell aggregation | Decrease adhesion, decrease initial colonization, decrease biofilm establishment | C. albicans, C. tropicalis | Highly effective in preventing early attachment on device surfaces | Poon and Hui, 2023; Song and Lee, 2017 |
| Indole-3-Lactic Acid & Inosine Derivatives | Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, L. acidophilus | Modulate quorum sensing; inhibit fungal metabolic pathways | Decrease filamentation, decrease biofilm density | C. albicans | Strain-specific compounds; not all isolates produce equal levels | Spaggiari et al., 2024 |
| Hydrogen Peroxide | Several Lactobacillus spp. | Oxidative inhibition; reduces fungal viability | Decrease growth, decrease biofilm, increase susceptibility to azoles | C. albicans, C. glabrata | Acts synergistically with organic acids | Vilela et al., 2015 |
| Bacteriocin-like Peptides | Pediococcus acidilactici, L. plantarum | Pore-forming peptides; disrupt membrane integrity | Decrease viability of biofilm cells | C. albicans | Often active at low concentrations; good candidates for coatings | Kim and Kang, 2019 |