IN-VITRO ANTICRYPTOSPORIDIAL ACTIVITY OF DINITROANILINE HERBICIDES

Despite the evaluation of over 100 antimicrobial drugs, the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis has remained refractory to treatment. We rep ort the evaluation of five dinitroaniline herbicides including triflur alin, profluralin, nitralin, pendimethalin, and fluchloralin for antic ryptosporidial activity in an in vitro cultivation model of Cryptospor idium parvum. All five compounds exhibited significant anticryptospori dial activities with no corresponding evidence of toxicity. The most a ctive compound was pendimethalin with an IC50 of 0.19 mu M while nitra lin was the least active with an IC50 of 4.5 mu M. These compounds sho uld be evaluated further in an animal model of cryptosporidiosis.