Antiparasitic agents

Ivermectin is an antiparasitic medication. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, it is used to treat infestations including head lice, scabies, river blindness (onchocerciasis), strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis and lymphatic filariasis. It works through many mechanisms to kill the targeted parasites, and can be taken by mouth, or applied to the skin for external infestations. It belongs to the avermectin family of medications.

Permethrin is a medication and an insecticide. As a medication, it is used to treat scabies and lice. It is applied to the skin as a cream or lotion. As an insecticide, it can be sprayed onto outer clothing or mosquito nets to kill the insects that touch them.

Praziquantel, sold under the brandname Biltricide among others, is a medication used to treat a number of types of parasitic worm infections in mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish. In humans specifically, it is used to treat schistosomiasis, clonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis, tapeworm infections, cysticercosis, echinococcosis, paragonimiasis, fasciolopsiasis, and fasciolosis. It should not be used for worm infections of the eye. It is taken by mouth.

Malathion is an organophosphate insecticide which acts as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. In the USSR, it was known as carbophos, in New Zealand and Australia as maldison and in South Africa as mercaptothion.

thumb|right|300px|The structure of arsphenamine has been proposed to be akin to azobenzene (A). Salvarsan is now assumed to be a mixture of the trimer (B) and the pentamer (C).

Tiabendazole (INN, BAN), also known as thiabendazole (AAN, USAN) or TBZ and the trade names Mintezol, Tresaderm, and Arbotect, is a preservative, an antifungal agent, and an antiparasitic agent.

Diethylcarbamazine is a medication used in the treatment of filariasis including lymphatic filariasis, tropical pulmonary eosinophilia, and loiasis. It may also be used for prevention of loiasis in those at high risk. While it has been used for onchocerciasis (river blindness), ivermectin is preferred. It is taken by mouth.

Oxamniquine, sold under the brand name Vansil among others, is a medication used to treat schistosomiasis due to Schistosoma mansoni. Praziquantel, however, is often the preferred treatment. It is given by mouth and used as a single dose.

Abamectin (also called avermectin B1) is a widely used insecticide and anthelmintic. Abamectin, is a member of the avermectin family and is a natural fermentation product of soil dwelling actinomycete Streptomyces avermitilis. Abamectin differs from ivermectin, the popular member of the avermectin family, by a double bond between carbons 22 and 23. Fermentation of Streptomyces avermitilis yields eight closely related avermectin homologs, with the B1a and B1b forms comprising the majority of the fermentation. The non-proprietary name, abamectin, refers to a mixture of B1a (~80%) and B1b (~20%).

Nitazoxanide, sold under the brand name Alinia among others, is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic and broad-spectrum antiviral medication that is used in medicine for the treatment of various helminthic, protozoal, and viral infections. It is indicated for the treatment of infection by Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia in immunocompetent individuals and has been repurposed for the treatment of influenza. Nitazoxanide has also been shown to have in vitro antiparasitic activity and clinical treatment efficacy for infections caused by other protozoa and helminths; evidence suggested that it

Antiparasitics are a class of medications which are indicated for the treatment of parasitic diseases, such as those caused by helminths, amoeba, ectoparasites, parasitic fungi, and protozoa, among others. Antiparasitics target the parasitic agents of the infections by destroying them or inhibiting their growth; they are usually effective against a limited number of parasites within a particular class. Antiparasitics are one of the antimicrobial drugs which include antibiotics that target bacteria, and antifungals that target fungi. They may be administered orally, intravenously or topically.

thumb|right|300px|Skeletal structure of the 8 different natural avermectins The avermectins are a group of 16-membered macrocyclic lactone derivatives with potent anthelmintic and insecticidal properties. These naturally occurring compounds are generated as fermentation products by Streptomyces avermitilis, a soil actinomycete. Eight different avermectins were isolated in four pairs of homologue compounds (A1, A2, B1, B2), with a major (a-component) and minor (b-component) component usually in ratios of 80:20 to 90:10. Avermectin B1, a mixture of B1a and B1b, is the drug and pesticide abamecti

Metrifonate (INN) or trichlorfon (USAN) is an irreversible organophosphate acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. It is a prodrug which is activated non-enzymatically into the active agent dichlorvos.

Dichlorophen is an anticestodal agent, fungicide, germicide, and antimicrobial agent. It is used in combination with toluene for the removal of parasites such as ascarids, hookworms, and tapeworms from dogs and cats. In 2025, dichlorophen was reported to function as a tubulin binding mitotic inhibitor.

Fexinidazole is a medication used to treat African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. It is effective against both first and second stage disease. It is taken by mouth.

fungi which are ingested to improve health and well-being

Flubendazole is an anthelmintic, used both in humans and for veterinarian purposes. It is very close chemically to mebendazole, the only difference being an added fluorine atom. Like mebendazole, flubendazole inhibits tubulin polymerization.

Selamectin, sold under the brand name Revolution, among others, is a topical parasiticide and anthelminthic used on dogs and cats. It treats and prevents infections of heartworms, fleas, ear mites, sarcoptic mange (scabies), and certain types of ticks in dogs, and prevents heartworms, fleas, ear mites, hookworms, and roundworms in cats. It is structurally related to ivermectin and milbemycin. Selamectin is not approved for human use.

Carbadox is a veterinary drug that combats infection in swine, particularly swine dysentery.

Salinomycin is an antibacterial and coccidiostat ionophore therapeutic drug. It is widely researched for its anticancer stem cell properties.

Oxantel is an anthelmintic. It has typically been used in human and animal medicine as a treatment for intestinal worms. It has also been shown to inhibit fumarate reductase in some pathogenic bacteria.

Niridazole is a schistosomicide. It is used to treat schistosomiasis, the helmintic disease caused by certain flatworms (trematodes) from the genus Schistosoma (formerly Bilharzia). It is also known by its trade name Ambilhar. It is usually given as tablets.

Propamidine is an antiseptic and disinfectant.

Narasin is a coccidiostat and antibacterial agent. It is a derivative of salinomycin with an additional methyl group. Narasin is produced by fermentation of a strain of Streptomyces aureofaciens.

Bithionol is an antibacterial, anthelmintic, and algaecide. It is used to treat Anoplocephala perfoliata (tapeworms) in horses and Fasciola hepatica (liver flukes). __TOC__ ==Mechanism of action== Bithionol has been shown to be a potent inhibitor of soluble adenylyl cyclase, an intracellular enzyme important in the catalysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Soluble adenylyl cyclase is uniquely activated by bicarbonate. The cAMP formed by this enzyme is associated with capacitation of sperm, eye pressure regulation, acid-base regulation, and astrocyte/ne

Oryzalin is a herbicide of the dinitroaniline class. It acts through the disruption (depolymerization) of microtubules, thus blocking anisotropic growth of plant cells. It can also be used to induce polyploidy in plants as an alternative to colchicine.

Clopidol is an organic compound that is used as in veterinary medicine as a coccidiostat. It is prepared industrially by a multistep process from dehydroacetic acid.

Toltrazuril is an antiparasitic medication used primarily to treat coccidiosis in animals. Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease caused by coccidia, which are microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled obligate intracellular parasites belonging to the apicomplexan class Conoidasida.

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Dimetridazole is a drug that combats protozoan infections. It is a nitroimidazole class drug. It used to be commonly added to poultry feed. This led to it being found in eggs. Because of suspicions of it being carcinogenic its use has been legally limited but it is still found in the eggs. It is now banned as a livestock feed additive in many jurisdictions, for example in the European Union, Canada. and the United States. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration bans it for extralabel use

Arsenamide or thiacetarsamide (trade name Caparsolate) is an arsenical. It is a proposed chemotherapeutic agent against canine filaria and trichomonas.

Cymiazole is a veterinary drug used as an ectoparasiticide. It is also used to control Varroa mites in honeybees.

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Lasalocid is an antibacterial agent and a coccidiostat, which is produced by strains of Streptomyces lasaliensis. It is the drug in the feed additives called Bovatec and Avatec.

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Stibophen is an anthelmintic originally developed by Bayer that is used as a treatment for schistosomiasis by intramuscular injection. It is classified as a trivalent antimony compound. Brand names include Fouadin/Fuadin (named in honor of Fuad I of Egypt, who had enthusiastically supported its research and development).

Ethopabate is a coccidiostat used in poultry.

Oltipraz is an organosulfur compound belonging to the dithiolethione class. It acts as a schistosomicide and has been shown in rodent models to inhibit the formation of cancers in the bladder, blood, colon, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, stomach, and trachea, skin, and mammary tissue. Clinical trials of oltipraz have failed to demonstrate efficacy and have shown significant side effects, including neurotoxicity and gastrointestinal toxicity. Oltipraz has also been shown to generate superoxide radicals, which can be toxic.

Melarsomine (melaminylthioarsenate) is an arsenic-based anthelmintic. In the U.S., it is marketed under the trade names Immiticide (Merial) and Diroban (Zoetis), and is approved by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine for the treatment of adult heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) infection in dogs. It is not approved for treatment in cats, or dogs in late-stage infection.

Robenidine is a coccidiostat. Robenidine is an antibiotic used for the control of coccidiosis, a debilitating protozoal infection in poultry. Although there are alternative antibiotics available, robenidine is important in the management of antibiotic resistance as farmers rotate the use of robenidine with other antibiotics to try to preserve the effectiveness of these products in fighting infections.

Halofuginone, sold under the brand name Halocur, is a coccidiostat used in veterinary medicine. It is a synthetic halogenated derivative of febrifugine, a natural quinazolinone alkaloid which can be found in the Chinese herb Dichroa febrifuga (Chang Shan). Collgard Biopharmaceuticals is developing halofuginone for the treatment of scleroderma and it has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

An ectoparasiticide is an antiparasitic drug used in the treatment of ectoparasitic infestations. These drugs are used to kill the parasites that live on the body surface. Permethrin, sulfur, lindane, dicophane, benzyl benzoate, ivermectin and crotamiton are well known ectoparasiticides. Additionally, ectoparasiticides have been used to safely contaminate rhinoceros horns with hopes of it deterring the demand for these horns on the black market.

Abametapir, sold under the brand name Xeglyze, is a medication used for the treatment of head lice infestation in people six months of age and older.

Diclazuril (trade name Vecoxan) is a coccidiostat. In 2025 diclazuril has also been reported to interact with tubulin and inhibit its polymerization.

Nitroxinil is an anthelmintic, a veterinary medicine against parasitic worms in sheep and cattle. The substance is active against the liver fluke the Fasciola hepatica and to a lesser extent against thread worms in the gastrointestinal tract. Brand names include Fluconix, Dovenix and Trodax. Nitroxynil is also used against strains of the red gum worm (Haemonchus contortus) that have become resistant to benzimidazoles.

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