Cryptococcosis is a potentially fatal fungal disease which has aggrandized with the emergence of AIDS and antifungal resistance. The currently used antifungals lack the broad-spectrum activity and result in several toxicities during long treatment regimens. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the antifungal activity of cinnamaldehyde against Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii, the etiological agent of the disease. Quantitative and qualitative in vitro fungal susceptibilities were carried out by minimum inhibitory concentration assay, flow cytometric analysis, and confocal microscopy. Micromorphological alterations were studied through scanning electron and light microscopies. “In vivo” antifungal efficacy of cinnamaldehyde was assessed. Cinnamaldehyde showed antifungal activity against C. neoformans in a dose-dependent manner. A concentration of 1.37 mg/mL of cinnamaldehyde was found to be inhibitory and fungicidal while the low concentration (0.68 mg/mL) was found to induce micromorphological changes and formation of giant/titan-like cells in this pathogen. The reparative activity of cinnamaldehyde and its ability to prolong the life even after the advent of cryptococcal meningitis in mice was also noticed. This study suggests potent anti-cryptococcal activity of cinnamaldehyde. Though, it has a couple of limitations like allergy and low bioavailability. However, these problems can be circumvented by developing suitable analogs of the compound. It, therefore, could be used as a therapeutic option against cryptococcosis and cryptococcal meningitis. Moreover, the evaluation of its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties is desirable.

隐球菌病是一种潜在的致命真菌病，随着艾滋病和抗真菌药的出现而加剧。当前使用的抗真菌剂缺乏广谱活性，并且在长期治疗方案中导致多种毒性。因此，本研究旨在评估肉桂醛对新型隐球菌的抗真菌活性。古比，该病的病因。通过最小抑菌浓度测定，流式细胞术分析和共聚焦显微镜进行定量和定性的体外真菌敏感性。通过扫描电子和光学显微镜研究了微观形态变化。评估了肉桂醛的“体内”抗真菌功效。肉桂醛表现出的抗真菌活性新型隐球菌以剂量依赖的方式。浓度为1.37 mg / mL的肉桂醛具有抑制和杀菌作用，而浓度低（0.68 mg / mL）则可引起该病原体的微观形态变化和巨人/泰坦样细胞形成。还注意到了肉桂醛的修复活性及其即使在小鼠隐球菌脑膜炎出现后仍能延长寿命的能力。这项研究表明肉桂醛具有强大的抗隐球菌活性。但是，它有一些局限性，例如过敏和生物利用度低。但是，可以通过开发合适的化合物类似物来解决这些问题。因此，它可用作对抗隐球菌病和隐球菌性脑膜炎的治疗选择。此外，需要对其药代动力学和药效学性质进行评估。