Antimycobacterial Activity and Mechanism of Action of NAS-91

Abstract

The antimalarial agents NAS-91 and NAS-21 were found to express potent antimycobacterial activity, NAS-91 being more active than NAS-21. They partially inhibited mycolic acid biosynthesis and profoundly altered oleic acid production. The development of a cell-free assay for Delta 9-desaturase activity allowed direct demonstration of the inhibition of oleic acid biosynthesis by these compounds.