Oxantel is an

anthelmintic Anthelmintics or antihelminthics are a group of antiparasitic drugs that expel parasitic worms (helminths) and other internal parasites from the body by either stunning or killing them without causing significant damage to the host. They may also ...

. It has typically been used in human and animal medicine as a treatment for intestinal worms. It has also been shown to inhibit

fumarate reductase Fumarate reductase is the enzyme that converts fumarate to succinate, and is important in microbial metabolism as a part of anaerobic respiration. The catalyzed reaction is: : succinate + acceptor fumarate + reduced acceptor Fumarate reductases c ...

in some pathogenic bacteria. Similarly to pyrantel, oxantel depolarises the neurons of gastrointestinal parasites 100x more than acetylcholine, causing sustained muscular contraction, causing the parasites to die by spastic paralysis. This anthelmintic is commonly used to treat domestic animals as well as livestock, and resistance has been reported in both groups of animals.

References

Antiparasitic agents 3-Hydroxyphenyl compounds Alkene derivatives Pyrimidines {{antiinfective-drug-stub