Thiamphenicol (also known as thiophenicol and dextrosulphenidol) is an

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

. It is the

methyl In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula (whereas normal methane has the formula ). In formulas, the group is often abbreviated as ...

sulfonyl In organosulfur chemistry, a sulfonyl group is either a functional group found primarily in sulfones, or a substituent obtained from a sulfonic acid by the removal of the hydroxyl group, similarly to acyl groups. Group Sulfonyl groups can be w ...

analogue of

chloramphenicol Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections. This includes use as an eye ointment to treat conjunctivitis. By mouth or by intravenous, injection into a vein, it is used to treat meningitis, pl ...

and has a similar spectrum of activity, but is 2.5 to 5 times as potent. Like chloramphenicol, it is insoluble in water, but highly soluble in

lipid Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing ...

s. It is used in many countries as a

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...

antibiotic, but is available in China, Morocco and Italy for use in humans. Its main advantage over chloramphenicol is that it has never been associated with

aplastic anaemia Aplastic anemia (AA) is a severe hematologic condition in which the body fails to make blood cells in sufficient numbers. Normally, blood cells are produced in the bone marrow by stem cells that reside there, but patients with aplastic anemia ...

. Thiamphenicol is also widely used in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, particularly for the treatment of

sexually transmitted infection A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, e ...

s such as

pelvic inflammatory disease Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), also known as pelvic inflammatory disorder, is an infection of the upper part of the female reproductive system, mainly the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, and inside of the pelvis. Often, there may be no ...

. Unlike chloramphenicol, thiamphenicol is not readily metabolized in cattle, poultry, sheep, or humans, but is predominantly excreted unchanged. In pigs and rats the drug is excreted both as parent drug and as thiamphenicol glucuronate. Thiamphenicol can be administered as a part of a complex molecule,

Thiamphenicol glycinate acetylcysteine Thiamphenicol glycinate acetylcysteine (TGA) is a pharmaceutical drug that is a Combination drug, combination of thiamphenicol Glycine, glycinate ester (TAFGE), which is a Derivative (chemistry), derivative of the antibiotic thiamphenicol, an ...

References

Further reading