Antibacterial properties of bile acid oxazoline compounds

Chenooxazoline (50-100 microM) inhibited (greater than 50%) both 7 alpha and 7 beta-dehydroxylase activities in whole cells and cell extracts of Eubacterium sp. V.P.I. 12708. Chenooxazoline (greater than or equal to 50 microM) and methylchenooxazoline (greater than 25 microM) but not lithooxazoline (less than or equal to 100 microM) inhibited growing cultures of Eubacterium sp. V.P.I. 12708. Chenooxazoline (100 microM) also inhibited the growth of certain members of the genera Eubacterium, Clostridium, Bacteroides and Staphylococcus but not Pseudomonas, Escherichia, Salmonella or the eucaryotic microorganism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (less than or equal to 400 microM).