R. Weller et al., Antimicrobial effect of acidified nitrite on dermatophyte fungi, Candida and bacterial skin pathogens, J APPL MICR, 90(4), 2001, pp. 648-652
Aims: Nitric oxide is generated from sweat nitrite in the acidic environmen
t of the skin surface and is thought to contribute to protection against in
fection. This study examined the sensitivity of Trichophyton mentagrophytes
, T. rubrum, Candida albicans, Streptococcus pyrogenes, Staphylococcus aure
us and Propionibacterium acnes to acidified nitrite.
Methods and Results: Organisms were cultured in varying concentrations of n
itrite and pH for different lengths of time, before being transferred to re
covery medium. With the exception of Strep. pyogenes, addition of nitrite i
ncreased the antimicrobial activity of acid solutions against all organisms
tested. The rank order of sensitivity was: C. albicans < T. rubrum < T. me
ntagrophytes < Staph. aureus < P. acnes, with P. acnes being most sensitive
.
Conclusions: This work has shown that acidified nitrite is microbiocidal to
common cutaneous pathogens. The concentrations of nitrite required to kill
pathogenic fungi and bacteria in in vitro assays were higher than the conc
entrations of nitrite measured in sweat. However, additional co-factors in
vivo and in sweat may potentiate the effect of acidified nitrite.
Significance and impact of the Study: Pharmacological preparations of acidi
fied nitrite are novel antimicrobial agents. These data suggest skin organi
sms which may be sensitive to this treatment.