Substituted methyl benzimidazole carbamate: efficacy against experimental cysticercosis.

Methyl [5-([4-(2-pyridinyl)-1-piprazinyl] carbonyl)-1H benzimidazole-2-yl] carbamate, a broad spectrum anthelmintic, was tested against Cysticercus fasciolaris in rats and the cysticercoids of Hymenolepis nana in beetles. A dose of 50 mg kg-1, given intraperitoneally (i.p.) to infected rats on 10 alternate days, was found most effective, killing all mature cysticerci. The same dose, given on each of five days, either from the fifth day prior to infection or the sixth day following infection, fully arrested the establishment of cysticerci. A single prophylatic dose of 500 mg kg-1, given intramuscularly (i.m.), protected rats against challenge with Taenia taeniaeformis eggs for 10 days. The test compound, mebendazole and praziquantel were all totally ineffective against mature cysticercoids in grain beetles but, of the beetles fed the drugs in flour, 66.3%, 50% and 83.8%, respectively, failed to support the development of immature cysticercoids. The effective cysticidal action of the compound makes it a candidate medical anthelmintic.