EVALUATION OF ANTIFUNGAL AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF SOME NEW BENZIMIDAZOLE DERIVATIVES

Abstract

The extensive use of antifungal drugs and their resistance against fungal infections have led to discover new antimicrobial compounds. We previously described synthesis of some new derivatives of 2-methylbenzimidazole (1a-5a) and 5,6dimethylbenzimidazol (1b-5b). Here we evaluated the antimicrobial activities of these compounds against different species of micro organisms including gram positive and gram negative bacteria as well as fungi. Broth micro-dilution method as recommended by clinical and laboratory standard institute (CLSI) was used for this purpose. The results show compounds 2-Methyl-1-(3-methylbenzyl)-1H-benzo [d]imidazole (5a) and 5,6-Dimethyl-1-(3-methyl benzyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole (5b) had the best antifungal activity against the examined fungi and gram positive bacteria. Moreover these two compounds inhibited the growth of azole resistant strains. By comparison the relationship between the structures and activities of the tested compounds revealed that the presence of methyl residue in meta position of benzyl group enhance the antifungal activity. Regarding a broad spectrum antifungal activities of some of the tested compounds, they might be a good candidate for further in vivo studies to evaluate their pharmacological activity and toxicity as a novel antifungal agents.