Anti-Candida albicans natural products: convergent technologies revolutionizing discovery from bioactivity assessment to targeted mechanisms.

Candida albicans represents a critical opportunistic fungal pathogen. The escalating prevalence of drug resistance necessitates urgent development of novel antifungal therapeutics. Natural products, characterized by structural diversity and bioactivity, constitute pivotal resources for antifungal drug discovery. Microbial-derived anti-C. albicans natural products (ACA-NPs) remain under-explored yet as highly promising resources. This review synthesizes advancements over the past 15 years regarding microbial ACA-NPs, emphasizing the strategies for multi-omics integration and data mining, in vitro and in vivo antifungal efficacy assessment, mechanisms of antifungal action, and future research directions and perspectives.