[Pharmacology of rifampicin]

The data on pharmacological study of rifampicin prepared at the All-Union Research Institute of Antibiotics are presented. It was found that by its acute toxicity the drug conformed to rifampicin manufactured by "Lepetit (Italy). When it was administered for a prolonged period of time to rats in doses equivalent to the therapeutic ones for humans, the drug had no effect on the cardiovascular system, the function of the liver and kidneys, growth and debelopment of the rats, the pictures of the peripheral blood. When rifampicin was used in doses 4--8 times higher than the therapeutic ones, it sometimes induced a decrease in the erythrocyte count and hemoglobin level, changes in the liver function, a reliable arrest of the rat growth, some changes in the liver and gastric mucosa revealed on histological examination. No allergic properties of rifampicin were observed in guinea pigs of light colour. No differences in the effect of rifampicin of the Soviet, Italian and Polish production were found.