The Action of Furazolidone on Pregnancy

Abstract

1. Furazolidone (0\m=.\75g/kg) will interrupt pregnancy in mice. 2. Foetal tissue is particularly sensitive to the drug at the time of or before implantation of the ovum.3. Intra-amniotic injection of furazolidone in rabbits causes foetal death and resorption. 4. Furazolidone applied locally does not antagonize the proliferative effect of progesterone on rabbit endometrium. 5. The mode of action of furazolidone on pregnancy is discussed. It is suggested that it acts directly on the foetus. Furazolidone (iVr-5(nitro-2-furfurylidene)-3-amino-2-oxazolidone) is one of a series of nitrated furan derivatives which are being used against a variety of micro¬ organisms in both animals and man.Nitrofurazone (5-nitro-2-furaldehyde semicarbazone) has been used in the treat¬ ment of testicular tumours [Wildermuth, 1955]. The same nitrofuran has been shown by Green & Friedgood [1948] and Friedgood & Green [1950] to depress the rate of growth of fibrosarcomata in mice.Nissim [personal communication] has shown that the administration of furazolidone reduces the rate of growth of mice, and Rogers, Belloff, Paul, Yurchencho & Gever [1956] have demonstrated a similar effect in young rats. Didcock, Jackson & Robson [1956] have shown that a number of cytotoxic drugs can affect pregnancy, and it was thought of interest to investigate whether furazolidone has an effect on gestation, since at this time there is rapid new growth in the body. METHODSThe experiments were performed on mice (albino C strain) and rabbits, using the methods described by Didcock et al. [1956]. In mice the duration of pregnancy was dated from the finding of the vaginal plug and in rabbits from the observed mating.Furazolidone was administered to mice either in the diet or by gastric instillation of a suspension in olive oil. The drug was well mixed with M.R.C, diet 41 [Parkes, 1946] and each animal was given 5 g of the mixture each day throughout the experiment, the treatment being started at various stages of pregnancy. Furazolidone is only slightly soluble in olive oil and so was given partly in solution and partly in suspen¬ sion, the mixture containing 100 /ug/ml. The total amount was given in a single dose by stomach tube.Furazolidone was administered to rabbits by intra-amniotic injection as a suspen¬ sion in normal saline, the volume of every injection being 0· 1 ml. 22 Endoc. 15, 4

2-Oxazolidones

“…It is reported to be efficacious in infectious synovitis (473,474), coccidiosis infections 8). It is reported to be effective when included in animal feeds (14,16,552), as a nutritive preparation for fish breeding (268), as an antibacterial (9,243,254,330,603,604), as an inhibitor of the growth of Histomonas meleagrides (252), to prevent pregnancy in mice (267), and to treat infectious putrefactive diseases in bees (378). Its effect on the excretion of B vitamins in the urine (266) has been studied.…”