Methods for treating antibiotic-resistant infections

A method of treating a patient suffering from infection caused by bacteria, mycobacterium or fungi by administration to said patient of a composition containing as an active agent bacteria, mycobacterium or yeast growth-inhibiting effective amount of a compound of the formula:

• ##STR4## wherein B is a carbon (C') bound to an oxygen, (.dbd.O, OH, Oalk, OCOalk, OCOaryl, OCOphenyl alkyl, or an oxygen in a cyclic moiety wherein aryl is phenyl or naphthyl and alkyl has 1-4 carbons and may be substituted hydroxy, or with 1-2 halo atoms) and wherein said carbon C' is also bound to a nitrogen-containing saturated chain or is bound directly or through or an alkyl chain of 1-3 carbons to a nitrogen-containing saturated ring system (for example, piperidinyl or quinuclidinyl ring systems), wherein any saturated ring system may be substituted with alkyl, alkenyl, halo, alkoxy or haloalkyl moieties of 1-5 carbons or with phenyl, phenoxy, phenylalkyl, phenylalkoxy, carboxy or carbonyl groups, wherein the carboxy or carbonyl groups, including keto or ester moieties with alkyl groups of 1-4 carbons, alkenyl groups of 2-5 carbons or phenylalkyl wherein the alkyl is of 1-3 carbons or phenylalkoxy wherein the alkyl is of 1-3 carbons and wherein at least one of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 is an electron-rich substituent and n may be 0-4 with the proviso that at least one of n is not 0 and where R.sub.1 and/or R.sub.2 may be alkyl, alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy, aryloxyalkyl, amino, amino-alkyl, alkyl-aminoalkyl, arylamino, alkenyl, arylalkenyl, arylalkylaminoalkyl, carboxyalkyl, hydroxy, halo, alkenyl, alkenyloxy, wherein any alkyl has 1-8 carbons, alkenyl has 2-8 carbons, wherein halo is chloro, fluoro or bromo and aryl is a ring system of 1-3 rings.