Nitrofurans are a class of drugs typically used as antibiotics or antimicrobials.[1] The defining structural component is a furan ring with a nitro group.[2]
Drugs
Members of this class of drugs include:
Antibacterials (antibiotics)
Difurazone (also known as Nitrovin) — an antibacterial growth promoter used in animal feeds
Furazolidone
Nifurfoline
Nifuroxazide
Nifurquinazol
Nifurtoinol
Nifurzide
Nitrofural (also known as nitrofurazone)
Nitrofurantoin — a drug used to treat urinary tract infections[3]
Ranbezolid — technically an oxazolidinone antibiotic bearing a nitrofuran group
Antimicrobials
Furaltadone — an antiprotozoal
Furazidine — an antibacterial and antiprotozoal
Furaginum — an antibacterial
Furylfuramide — a formerly used food preservative
Nifuratel — an antiprotozoal and antifungal
Nifurtimox — an antiprotozoal
FANFT, a potent nitrofuran derivative tumor initiator. It causes bladder tumors in all animals studied and is mutagenic to many bacteria.
Regulation
The European Union has banned the use of Nitrofurans in food-producing animals. In the 2000s, a number of meat imports were destroyed after nitrofurans were found, including chicken imported from Portugal,[4] and chicken imported from Thailand and Brazil.[5]
References
^Chu, Pak-Sin; Lopez, Mayda I; Abraham, Ann; El Said, Kathleen R; Plakas, Steven M (2008). "Residue Depletion of Nitrofuran Drugs and Their Tissue-Bound Metabolites in Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) after Oral Dosing". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 56 (17): 8030–8034. doi:10.1021/jf801398p. PMID 18698789.
