Rifaximin is only found in individuals that have used or taken this drug. It is a semisynthetic, rifamycin-based non-systemic antibiotic, meaning that the drug will not pass the gastrointestinal wall into the circulation as is common for other types of orally administered antibiotics. It is used to treat diarrhea caused by E. coli.Rifaximin acts by inhibiting RNA synthesis in susceptible bacteria by binding to the beta-subunit of bacterial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-dependent ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase enzyme. This results in the blockage of the translocation step that normally follows the formation of the first phosphodiester bond, which occurs in the transcription process.
belongs to the class of organic compounds known as macrolactams. These are cyclic amides of amino carboxylic acids, having a 1-azacycloalkan-2-one structure, or analogues having unsaturation or heteroatoms replacing one or more carbon atoms of the ring. They are nitrogen analogues (the a nitrogen atom replacing the o atom of the cyclic carboxylic acid group ) of the naturally occurring macrolides.
