Background:

Piroctone olamine is a pyridine derivate. It is known to have a fungicidal effect.

Piroctone olamine, the ethanolamine salt of the hydroxamic acid derivative Piroctone, is a hydroxypyridone anti-mycotic agent. Piroctone olamine penetrates the cell membrane and forms complexes with iron ions, inhibiting energy metabolism in mitochondria[1]. Piroctone olamine (PO) is an ethanolamine salt of the hydroxamic acid derivative Piroctone. All Candida strains show low minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for Piroctone olamine (0.125-0.5 μg/mL) and Amphotericin B (AMB) (0.03-1 μg/mL)[2].

This work aimed to evaluate the antifungal activity of Piroctone olamine in the treatment of intra-abdominal candidiasis in an experimental model using Swiss mice. The treatment with Piroctone olamine (0.5 mg/kg) is performed 72 h after infection by intraperitoneal administration. For comparison, a group of animals (n=6) is treated with Amphotericin B (0.5 mg/kg). The mycological diagnosis is made by collecting the liver, spleen and kidneys. Data regarding the fungal growth and mortality are analyzed statistically by Student’s t test and analysis of variance, with level of significance set at P<0.05. The difference in fungal growth scoring between the control group and the treatment groups (Piroctone olamine and Amphotericin B) is statistically significant (P<0.05)[2].

[1]. Youn HJ, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Cream Containing Climbazole/Piroctone Olamine for Facial Seborrheic Dermatitis: A Single-Center, Open-Label Split-Face Clinical Study. Ann Dermatol. 2016 Dec;28(6):733-739. [2]. do Couto FM, et al. Antifungal activity of the piroctone olamine in experimental intra-abdominal candidiasis. Springerplus. 2016 Apr 16;5:468.