Assay of hypocholesterolaemic agents for antifungal activity

The presence of steroids, mainly of ergosterol, in the protoplasmic membrane of fungi provides a potential target for selective antifungal action. Several nonsteroidal hypocholesterolaemic agents used in human chemotherapy were tested for fungitoxicity. Most of the compounds, especially those of the phenyl- and phenoxyalkanecarboxylic acid type (I-V) as well as the bis-aminomethyl-cyclohexane derivative (VII) revealed a moderate antifungal activity, encouraging further studies on this line.