lucanthone lucanthone lucanthone is a drug used to treat parasitic diseases such as bilharziasis and schistosomiasis it is a prodrug and is converted to the active metabolite hycanthone. lucanthoneclinical dataatc codenoneidentifiers iupac name 1--4-methyl-9h-thioxanthen-9-one cas number479-50-5 ypubchem cid10180drugbankdb04967 ychemspider9772 nuniifc6d57000mchebichebi:51052 ncomptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid6023230 echa infocard100.006.849 chemical and physical dataformulac20h24n2osmolar mass340.49 g·mol−1 ny (what is this?) (verify) mechanism of action hycanthone binds to acetylcholine receptors in the worm and results in increased sensitivity to stimulation by 5-ht causing increase in motility, paired worms are separated and reproduction is stopped. it causes damage of the integument and vitelline duct.