ANTIINFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF CROCONAZOLE, A BROAD-SPECTRUM ANTIMYCOTIC AGENT, IN THE ARACHIDONIC ACID-INDUCED MOUSE EAR SWELLING TEST

Investigations on croconazole, a novel imidazole compound, suggested a ntiphlogistic properties in vitro. Hence, its antiinflammatory capacit y was tested in vivo using the arachidonic acid-induced mouse ear swel ling test, which is a suitable model for screening inhibitors of the l ipoxygenase and/or the cyclooxygenase. Topical application of croconaz ole (1%/0.01%) to the mouse ear induced a maximal inhibition of edema (inhibition: 39%/33%; p = 0.01) which was as strong as the reference n ordihydroguaiaretic acid (inhibition: 38.9%; p = 0.01). These results justify further investigations on croconazole to study potential inhib itory effects on proinflammatory arachidonic acid metabolites.