Trypanocidal substances

Various 9-A),]V-diethylaminopropyl-l,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazoles have been tested against Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis), a human tropical parasitic disease. It was found that 8-chloro- and/or 8-methoxy-substituted analogs may have promise as trypanocidal substances (479). 

Trypanocidal activity of phenanthridine derivatives was discovered in 1938 when phenidium (71) was tested versus T. congolense in mice. Dimidium (72) was quickly found more efficacious when both compounds were introduced for field use. However, for cattle, dimidium (72) is a relatively toxic substance. The discovery that homidium (73) is 10 to 50 times more potent as a trypanocide as well as less toxic to the host led to its introduction and continued use at a dose level of 1 mg kg-1. 

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