Nitazoxanide

Nitazoxanide is a prodrug form of the antiparasitic tizoxanide (Item No. 13693), an inhibitor of pyruvate-ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR).¹ It inhibits growth of the parasite C. parvum in MDBK cells when used at a concentration of 10 µg/ml.² It is active against M. tuberculosis and M. bovis (MIC = 16 µg/ml for both) and bactericidal against replicating and non-replicating M. tuberculosis.¹ Nitazoxanide (5 and 10 µM) inhibits replication of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV).³ It also inhibits viral hemagglutinin N-glycosylation and replication of the influenza strains H1N1 PR8 and WSN, as well as H5N9 A/Ck viruses (EC₅₀s = 1, 0.5, and 1 µg/ml, respectively).⁴ Nitazoxanide (250 mg/kg) reduces oocyst shedding and parasite burden, but not the severity of diarrhea, in a gnotobiotic piglet model of C. parvum infection.² Formulations containing nitazoxanide have been used in the treatment of diarrhea caused by G. lamblia or C. parvum.

WARNING This product is not for human or veterinary use.

1. de Carvalho, L.P.S., Lin, G., Jiang, X., et al. Nitazoxanide kills replicating and nonreplicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis and evades resistance. J. Med. Chem. 52(19), 5789-5792 (2009).

2. Theodos, C.M., Griffiths, J.K., D'Onfro, J., et al. Efficacy of nitazoxanide against Cryptosporidium parvum in cell culture and in animal models. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 42(8), 1959-1965 (1998).

3. Mostafa, A., Kandeil, A., Elshaier, Y.A.M.M., et al. FDA-approved drugs with potent in vitro antiviral activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 13(12), 443 (2020).

4. Rossignol, J.F., La Frazia, S., Chiappa, L., et al. Thiazolides, a new class of anti-influenza molecules targeting viral hemagglutinin at the post-translational level. The Journal of Biological Chemisty 284(43), 29798-29808 (2009).