Diloxanide furoate

Furamide is an ambecide, an anti-protozoal drug used in the treatment of amoebozoa infections.

Antidiarrhoeals / Antiprotozoles

selective agonist for delta-opioid receptor

ChEBI: Diloxanide furoate is a carboxylic ester resulting from the formal condensation of the carboxy group of furan-2-carboxylic acid with the hydroxy group of 2,2-dichloro-N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-N-methylacetamide. It is a drug used for the treatment of asymptomatic amebiasis. It has a role as an antiamoebic agent and a prodrug. It is a member of furans, a carboxylic ester, a tertiary carboxamide and an organochlorine compound.

Diloxanide furoate (Furamide) is an amebicide that is effective against trophozoites in the intestinal tract. In mild or asymptomatic infections, cures of 83 to 95% have been achieved; in patients with dysentery, cure rates may be less impressive. The drug is administered only orally and is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract following hydrolysis of the ester group. It is remarkably free of side effects, but occasionally flatulence, abdominal distention, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pruritus, and urticaria occur. Diloxanide is excreted in the urine, largely as the glucuronide. It is not available in the United States.

Diloxanide furoate (available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]) is prescribed for the treatment of asymptomatic amebiasis but is ineffective as a single agent for the extraintestinal form of the disease. The drug is administered orally and is hydrolyzed in the gut to give diloxanide, which is considered to be the active drug. Diloxanide is the only form identified in the bloodstream. The drug is found in the urine as the glucuronide.