Nifuroxazide
Nifuroxazide (INN) is an oral nitrofuran antibiotic, patented since 1966[1] and used to treat colitis and diarrhea in humans and non-humans.[2] It is sold under the brand names Ambatrol, Antinal, Bacifurane, Diafuryl (Turkey), Pérabacticel (France), Antinal, Diax (Egypt), Nifrozid, Ercefuryl (Romania, Czech Republic, Russia), Erfuzide (Thailand), Endiex (Slovakia), Enterofuryl (Russia), Pentofuryl (Germany), Nifuroksazyd Hasco, Nifuroksazyd Polpharma (Poland), Topron, Enterovid (Latin America), Eskapar (Mexico), Enterocolin, Terracolin (Bolivia), Apazid (Morocco), Nifural (Indonesia) and Septidiaryl. It is sold in capsule form and also as a suspension.
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| AHFS/Drugs.com | International Drug Names |
| Routes of administration | Oral |
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| ECHA InfoCard | 100.012.293 |
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| Formula | C12H9N3O5 |
| Molar mass | 275.220 g·mol−1 |
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History
Maurice Claude Ernest Carron patented the drug in the United States in 1966.[1] Subsequent patents issued to Germano Cagliero of Marxer S.p.A. describe the use of nifuroxazide as an antibiotic used to treat livestock.[2]
Effectiveness in humans
In 1997, in an Ivory Coast promotional leaflet, GlaxoSmithKline claimed that nifuroxazide (under the brand name "Ambatrol") is an anti-dehydration treatment, "neutralise[s] microbacterials" in diarrhoea, and has "a spectrum which covers most enteropathogenic microbacterials, Shigella, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococci, Klebsiella, Yersinia".[3] The international non-profit organization Healthy Skepticism, at the time using their former name, Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing (MaLAM), disagreed, stating "We have not found any scientific evidence to support these claims."[3]
STAT3 inhibition
In addition to its antibiotic activity, nifuroxazide has been found to be a potent inhibitor of STAT3, and consequently has been proposed as a cancer treatment.[4]
References
- US 3290213, Carron MC, "Antibacterial nitrofurfurylidene derivatives and methods of using same", issued 6 December 1966, assigned to Laboratories Robert et Carriere SA
- US 4093746, Cagliero G, "Method of and fodder for rearing white-meat calves for slaughter", issued 6 June 1978, assigned to Marxer SpA
- "SmithKline Beecham Ambatrol (nifuroxazide)". Healthy Skepticism. June 1997. Archived from the original on 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- Bailly C (September 2019). "Toward a repositioning of the antibacterial drug nifuroxazide for cancer treatment". Drug Discovery Today. 24 (9): 1930–1936. doi:10.1016/j.drudis.2019.06.017. PMID 31260646.
