www.ejbps.com │ Vol 8, Issue 8, 2021. │ ISO 9001:2015 Certified Journal │ Kukurtchyan et al. European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences 253 REVIEW ON NITAZOXANIDE: A BROAD SPECTRUM ANTIPARASITIC AGENT Ruchita M. Kothari* 1 , Dr. Javesh K. Patil 2 , Akash S. Jain 3 , Hitendra S. Chaudhari 4 , Amitkumar R. Dhankani 5 and Yogesh B. Rokade 6 1-6 P.S.G.V.P.M’S College of Pharmacy, Shahada. Article Received on 12/06/2021 Article Revised on 02/07/2021 Article Accepted on 22/07/2021 INTRODUCTION Intestinal parasitic infections rank amongst the most important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide there has been very little recent effort by the pharmaceutical industry to develop agents to treat human parasitic infections. [1,2] Nitazoxanide is a thiazolide broad-spectrum antiparasitic agent. In contrast with other agents, it is being primarily developed to treat human parasitic infections as well as bacterial infections. It was first described in 1975 by Jean Francois Rossignol and was initially developed as a veterinary anthelminthic with activity against intestinal nematodes, cestodes and liver trematodes. [3] In humans, nitazoxanide has been reported to be effective against a broad range of parasites including Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Cryptosporidium parvum, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Vittaforma corneae, Encephalitozoon intestinalis, Isospora belli, Blastocystis hominis, Balantidium coli, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichura, Taenia saginata, Hymenolepis nana, and Fasciola hepatica as well as some bacteria including Clostridium difficile & Helicobacter pylori. [4-10] Also, It has been used as a single agent to treat mixed infections with intestinal parasites i.e. protozoas and helminths. It is the first and only US FDA-approved drug for treatment of Cryptosporidium infection and is the first new drug approved for treatment of Giardia infection. [11,12] Drug profile of nitazoxanide Physicochemical properties of nitazoxanide Nitazoxanide is chemically 2-(Acetolyloxy)-N-(5-nitro- 2-thiazolyl) benzamide with molecular formula C 12 H 9 N 3 O 5 S. Its molecular weight is 307.28 g/mol. Nitazoxanide is a light yellow crystalline powder. It is poorly soluble in ethanol and practically insoluble in water. It has boiling point of 394°C & Melting point of 202°C. [13, 14] Chemical class of nitazoxanide Nitazoxanide belongs to the class of drugs known as thiazolides. The structure of nitazoxanide is shown in Fig.1. [15] Fig. 1: Structure of Nitazoxanide. Mechanism of action of nitazoxanide There are many mechanisms of nitazoxanide. The most widely accepted mechanism of nitazoxanide is believed to be the disruption of the energy metabolism in SJIF Impact Factor 6.044 Review Article ejbps, 2021, Volume 8, Issue 8, 253-255. European Journal of Biomedical AND Pharmaceutical sciences http://www.ejbps.com ISSN 2349-8870 Volume: 8 Issue: 8 253-255 Year: 2021 *Corresponding Author: Ruchita M. Kothari P.S.G.V.P.M’S College of Pharmacy, Shahada. ABSTRACT Nitazoxanide is a thiazolide antiparasitic agent that shows excellent in vitro activity against a wide variety of parasites as well as some bacteria. It has been used as a single agent to treat mixed infections with intestinal parasites i.e. protozoas and helminths. It was originally discovered in 1975 by Jean Francois Rossignol & It was initially developed as a veterinary antihelminthic with activity against intestinal nematodes, cestodes, and liver trematodes & In humans, nitazoxanide has been reported to be effective against a broad range of parasites, including Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Cryptosporidium parvum, Cyclospora cayetanens, etc. The main objective of this review is to study detailed profile of nitazoxanide like physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, clinical uses, and adverse effects of Nitazoxanide. KEYWORDS: Nitazoxanide, Antiparasitic agent, protozoa, helminths, etc.