Axenomycins, new cestocidal antibiotics.

Axenomycins are a new group of macrolide antibiotics isolated from the fermentation broth of Streptomyces lisandri n.sp. They exhibit anthelmintic activity against tapeworms (Cestoda). Three different fractions, A, B, and D, have been obtained, the most active fraction being axenomycin D. The activities of the axenomycin complex and axenomycin D against Hymenolepis nana in mice, Taenia pisiformis, Dipylidium caninum, and Diphyllobothrium sp. in dogs, and Moniezia expansa, M. benedeni, and Avitellina centripunctata in lambs were studied in experimentally and naturally infected animals. Axenomycins were effective and well tolerated by the oral route. Worm reduction rates after a single oral dose were 90 to 100% with 5 to 10 mg of axenomycin D/kg and 50 to 100% with 20 mg of axenomycin complex/kg.