Activity of the Anthelmintic Benzimidazoles against Giardia lamblia In Vitro

In vitro growth of the protozoan parasite Giardia Lamblia was highly sensitive to certain anthelmintic benzimidazoles. Albendazole and mebendazole were 30- to 50-fold more active than metronidazole and 4- to 40-fold more active than quinacrine. Thiabendazole, a noncarbamate benzimidazole, was less a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1990-12, Vol.162 (6), p.1408-1411
Main Authors: Edlind, Thomas D., Hang, Tu L., Chakraborty, Prasanta R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Albendazole - pharmacology
Animals
Anthelmintics
Benzimidazoles
Biological and medical sciences
Concise Communications
Cultured cells
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Drug Resistance
Flagella
Giardia - drug effects
Giardia - growth & development
Giardiasis
Histamine and antagonists. Allergy
Infections
Inhibitory concentration 50
Mebendazole - pharmacology
Medical sciences
Metronidazole - pharmacology
Microtubules
Percentages
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Prescription drugs
Quinacrine - pharmacology
Thiabendazole - pharmacology
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Summary:In vitro growth of the protozoan parasite Giardia Lamblia was highly sensitive to certain anthelmintic benzimidazoles. Albendazole and mebendazole were 30- to 50-fold more active than metronidazole and 4- to 40-fold more active than quinacrine. Thiabendazole, a noncarbamate benzimidazole, was less active. Since lack ofintestinal absorption makes mebandazole an attractive new antigiardial agent, its in vitro activity was further characterized. At low concentrations (0.05 µg/ml) mebendazole had a static effect on G. Lamblia growth; however, lethal activity was observed at a concentration fivefold lower (0.3 µg/ml) than necessary for the cidal agent metronidazole. Two observations are consistent with a microtubule target for mebendazole. First, attachment of cells to the culture tube, mediated by the ventral disk and flagella, was rapidly disrupted by mebendazole treatment. Second, the characteristic cell structure was grossly distorted by treatment. No mebendazole-resistant G. Lamblia were detected in a population of 108 cells.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/162.6.1408