Carbarsone Explained

Carbarsone is an organoarsenic compound used as an antiprotozoal drug for treatment of amebiasis and other infections.^{[1] [2] [3]} It was available for amebiasis in the United States as late as 1991. Thereafter, it remained available as a turkey feed additive for increasing weight gain and controlling histomoniasis (blackhead disease).^{[4] [5]}

Carbarsone is one of four arsenical animal drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in poultry and/or swine, along with nitarsone, arsanilic acid, and roxarsone.^[6] In September 2013, the FDA announced that Zoetis and Fleming Laboratories would voluntarily withdraw current roxarsone, arsanilic acid, and carbarsone approvals, leaving only nitarsone approvals in place.^[7] In 2015 FDA withdrew the approval of using nitarsone in animal feeds. The ban came into effect at the end of 2015.^[8]

Notes and References

1. SASAKI T, YOKAGAWA M, WYKOFF DE, RITICHIE LS . Asymptomatic amebiasis; treatment with atabrine in combination with carbarsone or chiniofon . United States Armed Forces Medical Journal . 7 . 3 . 363–8 . 1956 . 13299463 .
2. RADKE RA . Ameboma of the intestine: an analysis of the disease as presented in 78 collected and 41 previously unreported cases . Ann. Intern. Med. . 43 . 5 . 1048–66 . 1955 . 13268997 . 10.7326/0003-4819-43-5-1048.
3. HOEKENGA MT . A comparison of aureomycin and carbarsone in the treatment of intestinal amebiasis . Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. . 31 . 4 . 423–5 . 1 July 1951. 10.4269/ajtmh.1951.s1-31.423 . 14857246 .
4. McDougald LR . Efficacy and compatibility of amprolium and carbarsone against Coccidiosis and blackhead in turkeys . Poult. Sci. . 58 . 1 . 76–80 . 1979 . 572970 . 10.3382/ps.0580076. free .
5. Worden AN, Wood EC . The effect of Carbarsone (33.6 per cent w-v p-ureidobenzene arsonic acid) on bodyweight gain, food conversion and tissue arsenic levels of turkey poults . J. Sci. Food Agric. . 24 . 1 . 35–41 . 1973 . 4696593 . 10.1002/jsfa.2740240107.
6. News: U.S. Food and Drug Administration . Questions and Answers Regarding 3-Nitro (Roxarsone) . June 8, 2011.
7. News: U.S. Food and Drug Administration . FDA Response to Citizen Petition on Arsenic-based Animal Drugs . September 20, 2011.
8. News: U.S. Food and Drug Administration . FDA Announces Pending Withdrawal of Approval of Nitarsone . April 1, 2015.