Nifuroxazide is an oral nitrofuran

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.Members of this class of drugs include:* Furazolidone, antibacterial* Furylfuramide...

 antibiotic

Antibiotic

An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria.The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic; today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of...

, patented since 1966 and used to treat colitis

Colitis

In medicine, colitis refers to an inflammation of the colon and is often used to describe an inflammation of the large intestine .Colitides may be acute and self-limited or chronic, i.e...

 and diarrhea

Diarrhea

Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...

 in humans and non-humans. It is sold under the brand names Ambatrol, Antinal, Bacifurane, Diafuryl (FR), Nifrozid, Ercefuryl, Erfuzide (TH), Endiex,Endiaron, Ercefurin,Nifuroksazyd (CZ, SK, PL), Pérabacticel (FR), Pentofuryl (DE) Enteral (Afrique Norte) and Septidiaryl. It is sold in capsule form and also as a suspension. The pharmaceutical group SmithKline Beecham claims that nifuroxazide is highly effective and the consumers' group Healthy Skepticism

Healthy Skepticism

Healthy Skepticism Inc is an international non-profit organisation whose main aim is to "improve health by reducing harm from misleading drug promotion"....

 says that SmithKline Beecham's claims have no scientific support.

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 promotional leaflet, SmithKline Beecham 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

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...

, Salmonella

Salmonella

Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...

, Staphylococci

Staphylococcus

Staphylococcus is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria. Under the microscope they appear round , and form in grape-like clusters....

, Klebsiella, Yersinia

Yersinia

Yersinia is a genus of bacteria in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Yersinia are Gram-negative rod shaped bacteria, a few micrometers long and fractions of a micrometer in diameter, and are facultative anaerobes. Some members of Yersinia are pathogenic in humans; in particular, Y. pestis is the...

". The international non-profit organisation Healthy Skepticism

Healthy Skepticism

Healthy Skepticism Inc is an international non-profit organisation whose main aim is to "improve health by reducing harm from misleading drug promotion"....

, 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."

External links

• point of view critical of nifuroxazide