Nitazoxanide: Uses & Dosage

Generic Medicine Info Patient Medicine Information

This information is not country-specific. Please refer to the Malaysia prescribing information.

Generic Medicine Info

Indications and Dosage

Oral
Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis

Adult: As treatment for diarrhoea: 500 mg 12 hourly for 3 days.
Child: As treatment for diarrhoea: ≥12 years Same as adult dose.

Administration

Nitazoxanide Should be taken with food.

Contraindications

Hypersensitivity.

Special Precautions

Patient with HIV infection and immunodeficiency. Children. Pregnancy and lactation.

Adverse Reactions

Gastrointestinal disorders: Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, flatulence.
General disorders and administration site conditions: Fever.
Metabolism and nutrition disorders: Anorexia.
Nervous system disorders: Headache, dizziness.
Renal and urinary disorders: Urine discolouration.
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: Pruritus.

Drug Interactions

May compete for binding sites when concurrently given with other highly plasma protein-bound drugs with narrow therapeutic indices (e.g. warfarin).

Food Interaction

Administration with food enhances the extent of absorption.

Action

Description:
Overview: Nitazoxanide is an antiprotozoal agent that is active in vitro against oocysts and sporozoites of Cryptosporidium parvum and the trophozoites of Giardia duodenalis.
Mechanism of Action: The exact mechanism of action of nitazoxanide is unknown, but its antiprotozoal effects may be related to its ability to interfere with the pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR) enzyme-dependent electron transfer reaction, which is necessary for anaerobic energy metabolism in susceptible organisms.
Pharmacokinetics:
Absorption: Food enhances the extent of absorption. Time to peak plasma concentration: 1-5 hours (tizoxanide and tizoxanide glucuronide).
Distribution: Plasma protein binding: >99% (tizoxanide).
Metabolism: Rapidly hydrolysed in the liver into tizoxanide (an active metabolite), which then undergoes conjugation to form tizoxanide glucuronide.
Excretion: Via faeces (approx 67%), urine (approx 33%). Elimination half-life: 1-1.6 hours (tizoxanide).

Chemical Structure

Storage

Store between 15-30°C.

MIMS Class

Antiamoebics

ATC Classification

P01AX11 - nitazoxanide ; Belongs to the class of other agents used in the treatment amoebiasis and other protozoal diseases.

References

Brayfield A, Cadart C (eds). Nitazoxanide. Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference [online]. London. Pharmaceutical Press. https://www.medicinescomplete.com. Accessed 19/12/2025.

Nitazoxanide Tablet (ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). DailyMed. Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed. Accessed 19/12/2025.

Nitazoxanide Tablet, Film Coated (Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc.). DailyMed. Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed. Accessed 19/12/2025.

Nitazoxanide. Gold Standard Drug Database in ClinicalKey [online]. Elsevier Inc. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed 22/01/2026.

Nitazoxanide. UpToDate Lexidrug, AHFS DI (Adult and Pediatric) Online. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. Waltham, MA. UpToDate, Inc. https://online.lexi.com. Accessed 19/12/2025.

Nitazoxanide. UpToDate Lexidrug, Lexi-Drugs Multinational Online. Waltham, MA. UpToDate, Inc. https://online.lexi.com. Accessed 19/12/2025.

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