Mepartricin, a polyene active on both Trichomonas and Candida. Lack of mutagenic activity.

Mepartricin, the methyl ester of partricin, is a new polyene antibiotic with antifungal and antiprotozoal activity. The antitrichomonas activity in vitro is comparable to that of metronidazole, the widely used drug recently demonstrated to possess mutagenic activity and thus to be used with caution in therapy. Clinical investigations have shown that mepartricin can be successfully used in the topic treatment of vaginal trichomoniasis and candidiasis. The mutagenic activity of mepartricin has been evaluated using the Ames' test and compared to that of metronidazole. No mutagenic activity was detected for mepartricin. The drug can thus be proposed as a safer and efficient alternative to metronidazole.