Abstract
The anti-chlamydial activities of rokitamycin (RKM), an oral 16-member macrolide antibiotic, were investigated in vitro (MICs) and in terms of therapeutic effect of mice experimental Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia. MICs of RKM against standard strains of Chlamydia sp. were excellent 0.063-0.125μ/ml and were superior to MICs of erythromycin and roxithromycin. However, a therapeutic effect of RKM in the animal model was inferior to those of other macrolides. The study of pharmacokinetics of RKM in mice plasma showed rapid metabolism of RKM to metabolites with low anti-chlamydial activities. According to the above results, we conclude thatthe discrepancy between the in vitro and in vivo antichlamydial activities of RKM was caused by the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the drug in mice plasma. In human plasma, RKM was found to be stable. Therefore, we can expect good clinical effects of RKM against chlamydial respiratory tract infection.
