Abstract

A REVIEW ON CASPOFUNGIN: STRUCTURE, METABOLISM AND PHARMACOLOGICAL USES

*Barkha Raghav, Vikas Sharma and Shamim Ahmad

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Abstract

Caspofungin is a drug in the echinocandins class of medications used to manage and treat several medical conditions. These illnesses include invasive candidiasis, esophageal candidiasis, febrile neutropenia, candida infections, and invasive aspergillosis. The current review was based on caspofungin: structure, metabolism and pharmacological uses. Caspofungin acetate is the first antifungal medication of the echinocandins class to receive marketing approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Caspofungin, along with other echinocandins, functions through noncompetitive inhibition of the enzyme beta-(1,3)-D-glucan synthase. This enzyme is essential for the formation of the fungal cell wall and is not found in mammalian cells. Caspofungin is metabolised in the liver through hydrolysis and delayed N-acetylation, resulting in the formation of two metabolites that are not active. Therefore, it is recommended to reduce the dosage in cases of severe liver dysfunction. Caspofungin has a brief initial half-life (t1/2) of 1 to 2 hours (with a volume of distribution of 9.7l) and a longer second half-life of 9 to 11 hours. Around 75% of a radioactive dosage is retrieved after a period of 27 days, with 41% excreted in urine and 35% excreted in faeces. Approximately 2% of caspofungin is eliminated in the urine without undergoing any changes. The most frequently documented adverse events consist of chills, fever, phlebitis/thrombophlebitis, tachycardia, nausea, vomiting, rash, hypokalemia, increased plasma creatinine, pruritus, stomach discomfort, headache, and diarrhoea. It concludes that Caspofungin is an effective versatile antifungal drug with minimum side effects as compared to amphotericin-B.

Keywords: Caspofungin, structure, pharmacokinetics, pharmacological uses, candida infections.