Aim To investigate antifungal effects of domestic butenafine and its topical treatment on experimental
dermatophytosis in
guinea pigs.Methods The in vitro fungistatic concentrations were determined by a serial dilution method using sabrouraud dextrose agar and the MIC was estimated as the lowest concentration that completely inhibited the growth of
dermatophytes.1% betenafine cream was applied on the infected site of guinea pig dermatophytisis caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes in comparison with those of clotrimazole,naftifine,and bifonazole.Results MICs of butenafine for dermatophytes were in the range of 0.002 5～0.32μg·ml -1 and its antidermatophyte activity was greater than those of the reference drugs,showing that butenafine exhibits potent fungistatic activity.Topical butenafine cream showed excellent efficacy against
dermatophytosis and the effect was superior to that of clotrimazole,there was a significant difference between two groups(P<0.05).The effect of butenafine was higher than those of naftine and bifonazole,but there was no significant difference among them(P>0.05).The incidence of relapse rate of butenafine cream after topical treatment was lower than those of three reference drugs.Conclusion Butenafine cream has potential for treatment of superficial fungal infections in humans.