Antimicrobial activity of benzydamine, a non-steroid anti-inflammatory agent

The antimicrobial activity of benzydamine (BD), a non-steroid anti-inflammatory agent, was studied using different techniques against 38 strains belonging to 12 microbial species comprising bacteria, yeasts and a fungus. The minimum inhibitory concentrations, minimum lethal concentrations, per cent survivors after 30-minute exposure to BD (0.1%), growth curves of 7 selected organisms in subinhibitory BD concentrations and killing times for clinical isolates at different BD levels (0.05-0.15%) were determined. The data obtained throughout this study show that BD is a general antimicrobial agent with a rapid biocidal activity against a variety of organisms at concentrations less than those advocated for treatment of inflammatory conditions.