BACTERIOSTATIC PROPERTIES OF SULFANILAMIDE AND SOME OF ITS DERIVATIVES

Abstract

A systematic study to find a satisfactory drug to alter the bacterial flora of the intestinal tract was undertaken after it became apparent that sulfanilylguanidine has a limited application in the surgical treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Sulfanilylguanidine, according to the original reports of Marshall, Bratton, White and Litchfield¹ and Firor and Jonas,² seemed to offer great possibilities in this field. However, additional experience presented by Firor and Poth³ showed that this drug is not satisfactory because (1) the drug is too readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, giving rise to frequent and occasionally severe reactions, and (2) is ineffectual in the presence of ulcerating lesions of the bowel. The present investigation was undertaken to find an active drug which is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract in sufficient quantities to cause toxic manifestations and which is effective in the presence of ulcerating lesions of