Nematodicidal activity of flubendazole and its reduced metabolite on a murine model of Trichinella spiralis infection.

Lucía Urbizu, Alejandra Confalonieri, Sergio Sánchez Bruni, Carlos Lanusse, Luis Ignacio Alvarez

Index: Chemotherapy 58(4) , 295-8, (2012)

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Abstract

Flubendazole (FLBZ) is a broad-spectrum benzimidazole anthelmintic compound. The parent FLBZ is metabolized to its reduced (R-FLBZ) and hydrolyzed (H-FLBZ) metabolites. There are no data on the potential nematodicidal activity of R-FLBZ, the main plasma metabolite found in sheep and mice. The goal of the current work was to assess the efficacy of FLBZ and R-FLBZ against Trichinella spiralis in a mouse model.Both compounds were administered to Balb/c mice infected with T. spiralis as either a cyclodextrin aqueous solution or as a carboxymethylcellulose suspension. Treatments were performed orally (5 mg/kg) at 1 day after infection with T. spiralis. The efficacy of the treatments was assessed at day 6 after infection.While the efficacy obtained for FLBZ and R-FLBZ administered as a solution was 94 and 98%, respectively, the efficacies obtained after the treatment with FLBZ suspensions were 38% (FLBZ) and 64% (R-FLBZ).Under the current experimental conditions, a high nematodicidal efficacy of both FLBZ and R-FLBZ administered as solution preparations was observed.Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.