THE PRODUCTION IN CULTURES CONTAINING SODIUM PARANITROBENZOATE OF A SUBSTANCE THAT AFFECTS THE ACTION OF SULFATHIAZOLE

¹ From the Division of Laboratories and Research, New York State Department of Health, Albany

Sulfapyridine, sulfathiazole, sulfamethylthiazole, and to a lesser degree, sulfanilamide, sulfadiazine, and sodium paranitrobenzoate had a growth-retarding action on one strain of Streptococcus viridans; a second strain was resistant to all these compounds. Sodium para-aminobenzoate interfered with their growth-retarding action.

Filtrates of cultures of both strains of streptococcus grown in broth alone and in broth to which sodium paranitrobenzoate had been added contained a substance, presumably a primary aromatic amine, that gave a color on diazotization and coupling with dimethyl-alpha-naphthylamine. The filtrates of plain broth cultures did not affect the growth-retarding action of sulfathiazole on the susceptible strain, but filtrates of either strain grown in broth containing sodium paranitrobenzoate interfered with the bacteriostatic action of sulfathiazole.