The antipsychotic drug fluphenazine was obtained in a dry powder form
and was screened with respect to 482 strains of bacteria which include
d 170 Gram-positive and 326 Grain-negative strains. Nutrient agar plat
es containing increasing concentrations of fluphenazine (0-200 mu g/ml
) were used for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentrat
ion (MIG) which was demonstrated by inoculating a loopful of an overni
ght peptone water culture of the organism on nutrient agar plates and
determining the MIC against a control. Fluphenazine was detected to po
ssess pronounced action against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative b
acteria at 20-100 mu g/ml. In the in vivo studies it was seen that whe
n fluphenazine was used at a concentration of 1.5 mu g/g and 3 mu g/g
mouse body weight both the levels offered significant protection to Sw
iss strain of white mice when challenged with 50 minimum lethal dose (
MLD) of a virulent strain of Salmonella typhimurium 74. The in vivo da
ta with fluphenazine were highly significant (p <0.001) according to t
he chi-square test.