Mebendazole

This article is about a pharmaceutical drug, for the automobile brand abbreviated as MBZ, see Mercedes-Benz

Mebendazole

File:Mebendazole.png
Clinical data
Pregnancy category	?
Routes of administration	Oral
ATC code	P02CA01 (WHO)
Legal status
Legal status	?
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability	?
Metabolism	Hepatic
Elimination half-life	2.5 to 5.5 hours
Excretion	?
Identifiers
IUPAC name methyl [(5-benzoyl-3H-benzoimidazol-2-yl)amino]formate
CAS Number	31431-39-7
PubChem CID	7847434
DrugBank	APRD01086
E number	{{#property:P628}}
ECHA InfoCard	{{#property:P2566}}
Chemical and physical data
Formula	C16H13N3O3
Molar mass	295.293 g/mol

Mebendazole or MBZ, marketed as Ovex, Vermox, Antiox or Pripsen, is a benzimidazole drug that is used to treat infestations by worms including pinworms, roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms, and whipworms. The active ingredient in Pripsen powder is piperazine.

Mechanism

Mebendazole (C₁₆H₁₃N₃O₃) causes slow immobilization and death of the worms by selectively and irreversibly blocking uptake of glucose and other nutrients in susceptible adult intestine where helminths dwell. It is a spindle poison that induces chromosome nondisjunction.

Dosage

Oral dosage is 100 mg 12 hourly for 3 days, although sometimes the dosage is just one 500 mg dose, followed by another dose two weeks later if the infection has not cleared up. The dosage may differ depending on which type of worm someone is infected with.

See also

• Albendazole
• Janssen Pharmaceutica

External links

• Vermox (UK manufacturer's website)