Bacterial type II fatty acid synthesis (FAS-II) is mediated by a series of enzymes, each of which may be targeted by potential antibiotics. Bischloroanthrabenzoxocinone (BABX) is an inhibitor of FAS-II, blocking fatty acid synthesis in S. aureus and E. coli with IC50 values of 11.4 and 35.3 μg/ml, respectively. It inhibits the growth of S. aureus and permeable E. coli strains with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.2-0.4 μg/ml. BABX also displays binding to liver X receptors (LXRs), inhibiting agonist binding in an LXRα-scintillation proximity assay (IC50 = 10 μM).
