Nifuroxazide ( INN) is an oral

nitrofuran Nitrofurans are a class of drugs typically used as antibiotics or antimicrobials. The defining structural component is a furan ring with a nitro group. Drugs Members of this class of drugs include: * Antibacterials (antibiotics) ** Difurazone ...

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention ...

, patented since 1966 and used to treat

colitis Colitis is swelling or inflammation of the large intestine ( colon). Colitis may be acute and self-limited or long-term. It broadly fits into the category of digestive diseases. In a medical context, the label ''colitis'' (without qualification ...

and

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin w ...

in humans and non-humans. It is sold under the brand names Ambatrol, Antinal, Bacifurane, Diafuryl (Turkey), Benol (Pakistan), 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), Nifroxid (Tunisia), Nifural (Indonesia) and Septidiaryl. It is sold in capsule form and also as a suspension.

History

Maurice Claude Ernest Carron patented the drug in the United States in 1966. Subsequent patents issued to Germano Cagliero of Marxer S.p.A. describe the use of nifuroxazide as an antibiotic used to treat livestock.

Effectiveness in humans

In 1997, in an

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre i ...

promotional leaflet,

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claimed that nifuroxazide (under the brand name "Ambatrol") is an anti-dehydration treatment, "neutralise microbacterials" in diarrhoea, and has "a spectrum which covers most enteropathogenic microbacterials, Shigella,

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Esc ...

Salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are '' Salmonella enterica'' and '' Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is ...

Staphylococci ''Staphylococcus'' is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staphylococcaceae from the order Bacillales. Under the microscope, they appear spherical ( cocci), and form in grape-like clusters. ''Staphylococcus'' species are facultati ...

, Klebsiella,

Yersinia ''Yersinia'' is a genus of bacteria in the family Yersiniaceae. ''Yersinia'' species are Gram-negative, coccobacilli bacteria, a few micrometers long and fractions of a micrometer in diameter, and are facultative anaerobes. Some members of ''Yer ...

". The international

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, 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."

STAT3 inhibition

In addition to its antibiotic activity, nifuroxazide has been found to be a potent inhibitor of

STAT3 Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor which in humans is encoded by the ''STAT3'' gene. It is a member of the STAT protein family. Function STAT3 is a member of the STAT protein family. In respons ...

, and consequently has been proposed as a cancer treatment.

ALDH1 cancer stem cells

High aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 1 enzymatic activity is a marker for cancer stem cell/tumour initiating cell populations in many cancers. Nifuroxazide was found to be bio-activated by ALDH1 enzymes, and shown to selectively kill ALDH1-High melanoma cells in experimental human cell systems and mouse models. ALDH1 is enriched in melanoma patient samples following BRAF and MEK inhibitor treatments, and it has been proposed that nifuroxazide may be useful as a cancer treatment in this context.

References

Antibiotics Hydrazides Phenols Nitrofurans {{gastrointestinal-drug-stub