Studies on the Biological Disposition of Griseofulvin, an Oral Antifungal Agent

Abstract

In 1958 Gentles³ reported that he had successfully eradicated experimental ringworm of guinea pigs by oral treatment with griseofulvin. Investigations into the value of this antibiotic against dermatophyte infections in man were immediately carried out (Blank and Roth,² 1958; Riehl,⁵ 1958; Williams et al.,⁸ 1959); the results have been reviewed with considerable enthusiasm (Sulzberger and Baer,⁷ 1959). Despite our rapidly expanding knowledge of griseofulvin's clinical usefulness, little information is available on its distribution and fate in the body. Gentles et al.⁴ (1959) have demonstrated its presence in the hair of guinea pigs after they had been dosed orally with it. Sharpe and Tomich⁶ (1959), investigating the systemic toxicity of griseofulvin in mice and rats, found that the intraperitoneal toxicity was many times the oral. This finding suggests that, in high doses at least, griseofulvin is either poorly or slowly absorbed from the gastrointestinal