What are the immunopharmacological effects of furazolidone? A systematic review

Abstract

Furazolidone (FZD) is a widely used drug in human and veterinary medicine, and has antibacterial and antiprotozoal action. Although it is widely used as a therapy in various pathological conditions, studies on the efficacy of FZD associated with immune responses are still limited. In this review, we seek to describe which immunopharmacological responses are caused by the administration of FZD. The study followed the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). A systematic review of clinical trials and in vitro and in vivo experimental studies was carried out, which resulted in 943 papers, of which 35 were considered eligible and, of these 35, 4 were selected for analysis. The studies listed indicated that administration of FZD can modulate pro- or anti-inflammatory pathways, with a probable increase in the expression of reactive oxygen species and a modulation of apoptotic pathways.

Keywords:

• Furazolidone
• immunopharmacology
• immunology
• immune response

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Brazil for the doctoral grant provided to the first author of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Financial support was provided in the form of grants from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM) (Pró-Estado Program – #002/2008, #007/2018 and #005/2019, PAMEQ Program – #004/2019, PAPAC Program – #005/2019 and PECTI-AM/SAÚDE Program #004/2020), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and CAPES.