Chloroxine (trade name Capitrol; ''Kloroxin'', ''Dichlorchinolinol'', ''chlorquinol'', ''halquinol(s)''); Latin ''cloroxinum, dichlorchinolinolum'') is an

antibacterial An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention ...

drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

. Oral formulations (under trade name such as Endiaron) are used in infectious diarrhea, disorders of the intestinal microflora (e.g. after antibiotic treatment),

giardiasis Giardiasis is a parasitic disease caused by the protist enteropathogen ''Giardia duodenalis'' (also known as ''G. lamblia'' and ''G. intestinalis''), especially common in children and travellers. Infected individuals experience steatorrhea, a typ ...

inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine, with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine ...

. It is also useful for

dandruff Dandruff is a skin condition of the scalp. Symptoms include flaking and sometimes mild itchiness. It can result in social or self-esteem problems. A more severe form of the condition, which includes inflammation of the skin, is known as s ...

and

seborrheic dermatitis Seborrhoeic dermatitis (also spelled seborrheic dermatitis in American English) is a long-term skin disorder. Symptoms include flaky, scaly, greasy, and occasionally itchy and inflamed skin. Areas of the skin rich in sebum, oil-producing gland ...

., as used in shampoos (Capitrol) and dermal creams like (Valpeda, Triaderm).

Mechanism of action

Chloroxine has bacteriostatic, fungistatic, and antiprotozoal properties. It is effective against ''

Streptococci ''Streptococcus'' is a genus of gram-positive spherical bacteria that belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, within the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria), in the phylum Bacillota. Cell division in streptococci occurs along a sing ...

'', ''

Staphylococci ''Staphylococcus'', from Ancient Greek σταφυλή (''staphulḗ''), meaning "bunch of grapes", and (''kókkos''), meaning "kernel" or " Kermes", is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staphylococcaceae from the order Bacillale ...

'', ''

Candida Candida, or Cándida (Spanish), may refer to: Biology and medicine * ''Candida'' (fungus), a genus of yeasts ** Candidiasis, an infection by ''Candida'' organisms * Malvasia Candida, a variety of grape Places * Candida, Campania, a ''comu ...

'', ''

Candida albicans ''Candida albicans'' is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast that is a common member of the human gut flora. It can also survive outside the human body. It is detected in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth in 40–60% of healthy adults. It is usu ...

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Shigella ''Shigella'' is a genus of bacteria that is Gram negative, facultatively anaerobic, non–spore-forming, nonmotile, rod shaped, and is genetically nested within ''Escherichia''. The genus is named after Kiyoshi Shiga, who discovered it in 1 ...

'', and

Trichomonad Trichomonadida is an order of anaerobic protists, included with the parabasalids. Members of this order are referred to as trichomonads. Some organisms in this order include: *''Trichomonas vaginalis'', an organism living inside the vagina of h ...

Adverse effects

Rarely occurs, but may cause nausea and vomiting associated with oral administration. It may also cause skin irritation.

Pregnancy and lactation

The FDA lists chloroxine in Pregnancy Category C (risk cannot be ruled out) because no pregnancy studies on the medication have been performed with animals or humans. For this reason, use of chloroxine oral or topical during pregnancy or when breast-feeding is not recommended.Capitrol - FDA prescribing information
, drugs.com

History

Chloroxine was first prepared in 1888 by A. Hebebrand.

References

{{Xenobiotic-sensing receptor modulators Antibiotics Quinolinols Chloroarenes