Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

Furazolidone

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Routes of administration
  
Oral-Local

PubChem CID
  
3435

CAS ID
  
67-45-8

CAS Number
  
67-45-8

DrugBank
  
DB00614

Furazolidone

AHFS/Drugs.com
  
Micromedex Detailed Consumer Information

ATC code
  
G01AX06 (WHO) QJ01XE90 (WHO)

Furazolidone is a nitrofuran antibacterial agent. It is marketed by Roberts Laboratories under the brand name Furoxone and by GlaxoSmithKline as Dependal-M. Diafuron, medaron

Contents

Uses

Furazolidone has been used in human and veterinary medicine. It has a broad spectrum of activity being active against

  • Gram positive
  • Clostridium perfringens
  • Corynebacterium pyogenes
  • Streptococci
  • Staphylococci
  • Gram negative
  • Escherichia coli
  • Salmonella dublin
  • Salmonella typhimurium
  • Shigella
  • Protozoa
  • Giardia lamblia
  • Eimeria species
  • Histomonas meleagridis
  • Use in humans

    In humans it has been used to treat diarrhoea and enteritis caused by bacteria or protozoan infections. It has been used to treat traveler's diarrhoea, cholera and bacteremic salmonellosis. Use in treating Helicobacter pylori infections has also been proposed.

    Furazolidone is also used for giardiasis (due to Giardia lamblia), though it is not a first line treatment.

    Use in animals

    As a veterinary medicine, furazolidone has been used with some success to treat salmonids for Myxobolus cerebralis infections.

    It has also been used in aquaculture.

    Since furazolidone is a nitrofuran antibiotic, its use in food animals is currently prohibited by the FDA under the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act, 1994.

    Use in laboratory

    It is used to differentiate micrococci and staphylococci.

    Mechanism

    It is believed to work by crosslinking of DNA.

    Side effects

    Furazolidone is no longer available in the US. Though an effective antibiotic when all others fail, against extremely drug resistant infections, it has many side effects, and as with other nitrofurans generally, minimum inhibitory concentrations also produce systemic toxicity (tremors, convulsions, peripheral neuritis, gastrointestinal disturbances, depression of spermatogenesis.) Nitrofurans are recognized by FDA as mutagens/carcinogens, and can no longer be used since 1991.

    References

    Furazolidone Wikipedia