A thiamine analog and antiprotozoal agent that interferes with thiamine metabolism and inhibits carbohydrate synthesis; competitively inhibits thiamine uptake by E. tenella schizonts and by chick host intestinal cells (Kis = 7.6 and 326 μM, respectively); inhibits hexose formation and pentose utilization ex vivo in isolated lysed rat erythrocytes and in liver, kidney, heart, and intestinal tissue homogenates following dietary administration; inhibits oocyst output and sporulation of Eimeria maxima, E. brunetti, and E. acervulina in infected chicks at 1,000 ppm in the diet; decreases lesion and oocyst scores and mortality of E. tenella-infected chicks at 125 ppm in the diet; induces apoptosis in PC12 rat adrenal cells and increases the level of cleaved caspase-3 at 100 μM