Biological properties of aureobasidin A, a cyclic depsipeptide antifungal antibiotic.

Aureobasidin A (AbA) is a novel cyclic depsipeptide antifungal antibiotic. The antifungal activity of AbA was studied in vitro and in vivo in comparison with clinically effective antifungal agents, amphotericin B and fluconazole. AbA was highly active in vitro against many pathogenic fungi, including Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Blastomyces dermatitidis and Histoplasma capsulatum. The activity was superior to amphotericin B in most cases. AbA exhibited fungicidal action toward growing cultures of C. albicans. It was highly tolerated by mice and showed good efficacy in the treatment of murine systemic candidiasis when given orally or subcutaneously. AbA's fungicidal action in mice with candidiasis was more effective than fluconazole and amphotericin B.