Inhibitory Action of Dialkyl Succinic Acid Derivatives on the Growth in vitro of Acid-fast Bacteria

THE elucidation, by Shriner and Adams 1 , of the structures of the well-known leprocidal compounds, chaulmoogric and hydnocarpic acids, and the isolation, by Anderson and his co-workers 2 , of tuberculostearic and phthioic acids, from the lipoid fraction of tubercle and other acid-fast bacilli, has stimulated synthesis of various branched-chain fatty acids by a number of workers. Of the large number of these acids synthesized by Adams et al . 3 , the disubstituted acetic acids containing 16–18 carbon atoms were found to be most active against the leprosy bacillus in vitro . Adams's most active acid against the tubercle bacillus inhibited the growth of the latter in a dilution of 1/50,000 3 . Robinson and Birch 4 have synthesized a number of trisubstituted acetic acids having two long-chains and have found these acids to possess marked physiological activity resembling that of phthioic acid, producing cell reactions in animals as well as being strongly inhibitory of the growth of the tubercle bacillus in vitro .