01414nas a2200217   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001200055653001600067653001200083653000900095653002500104653000900129653001900138100001100157245006800168300001000236490000800246520092800254022001401182       1975                            d  c1975 May10aAnimals10aFatty Acids10aleprosy10aMice10aMycobacterium leprae10aOils10aPalmitic Acids1 aLevy L00aThe activity of chaulmoogra acids against Mycobacterium leprae.  a703-50 v1113 a<p>The activity of the crude sodium salts of the fatty acids of chaulmoogra oil and of hydnocarpic and chaulmoogric acids against Mycobacterium leprae was studied in mouse footpad infection. Multiplication of the organisms was inhibited when the salts were administered intraperitoneally and subcutaneously 3 times per week, and when chaulmoogric acid was administered intraperitoneally 5 times per week in half the equivalent dose. Dihydrochaulmoogric acid was also active, whereas palmitic acid was not. Hydnocarpic acid administered intraperitoneally once per week in a dose equivalent to half that of the sodium salts of the chaulmoogra fatty acids was not effective. The demonstration that chaulmoogra fatty acids possess activity against M. leprae lends weight to our earlier suggestion that a study of compounds analogous to these acids may yield effective antimicrobial agents with a unique mechanism of action.</p>  a0003-0805