[CAS NO. 126-07-8]  Griseofulvin

Griseofulvin is active against dermatophytes of different species in the genera Microsporum, Trichophyton and Epidermophyton. Other fungi such as and are insensitive. Griseofulvin has little or no effect against yeasts and bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration of Griseofulvin tested in vitro against various dermatophytes ranges between 0.14 and 0.6 μg/mL. Main effect of Griseofulvin on cell mitosis is disorganization of the spindle microtubules. Griseofulvin is also able to induce structural chromosomal aberrations in mammalian cells. Griseofulvin inhibits the viability of human colon adenocarcinoma cells COLO 205 and HT 29, hepatoma cells Hep G2 and Hep 3B, leukemia cells HL 60, and normal keratinocytes (#76 KhGH) with IC50s of ~1 and ~5 μM, 5 and 5 μM, 1 μM, and 50 μM, respectively after a 30 hr incubation,. Griseofulvin (20 μM) induces a marked presence of abnormal mitotic spindle formation with mono-, bi-, and tripolar spindles of varying lengths in HT 29 cells, and causes G2/M cell cycle arrest at 24h through elevation of cyclin B1/cdc2 kinase activity and down-regulation of myt-1 protein expression. Griseofulvin is able to induce apoptosis of HT 29 cells via caspase3 activation, Bcl-2 hyperphosphorylation and inhibition of the normal function of Bcl-2 associated with Bax.