ANTIBIOTICS

What is antibiotics ...........?

The substance produced by the microorganism which kill or inhibit the growth of other microorganism is called antibiotic .

- The term antibiotic was coined by Selman Waksman in 1942.

- The name antibiotic derived from two greek words,  Anti - mean against  and Bio mean life .

- Together they mean against life in the context of disease cousing organism. But with reference to human being they are Pro life not against. 

- They are used to kill or inhibit the growth of the pathogen microorganism like bacteria or fungi .

- The property of antibiotics to kill pathogenic microorganisms is called Antibiosis. 

History of antibiotics :- 

 1855: Antibiotics was first shown by Babes.

1928: Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin. However, it took over a decade before penicillin was introduced as a treatment for bacterial infections

Fig .  .formula of penicillin 

1930s: The first commercially available antibacterial was Prontosil, a sulfonamide developed by the German biochemist Gerhard Domagk.

1945: Penicillin was introduced on a large scale as a treatment for bacterial infections. This was possible through the work of Florey and Chain who managed to efficiently purify the antibiotic and scale-up production. The introduction of penicillin marked the beginning of the so-called “golden era” of antibiotics

1940 – 1962: The golden era of antibiotics. Most of the antibiotic classes we use as medicines today were discovered and introduced to the market. Each class typically contains several antibiotics that have been discovered over time or are modified versions of previous types. There are for example numerous β-lactams (pronounced beta-lactams) such as different penicillins and cephalosporins.

Uses of Antibiotics :- 

Antibiotics are powerful medicines that fight certain infections and can save lives when used properly. They either stop bacteria from reproducing or destroy them.

- Antibodies are used to medicines for treatment of a number of pathogenic or infection diseases. 

- Because of antibiotic, a number of deadly disease such as plague, whooping cough, diphtheria, leprosy, typhoid, tuberculosis, are now curable and can now be controlled. 

- Antibiotics have proved effective in lowering mortality rates. 

- They have also proved effecting and controlling a number of infectious diseases of our cattle , sheep, and other useful animal . eg. bacteria diarrhoea, pneumonia.

Fig. some uses of antibiotic 

- Antibiotics are also being used to control a number of plant bacterial diseases like bacterial spot of tomatoes, wild fire of tobacco etc.

- They are used in preservation of perishable food such as meat, fish and poultry feed .

Some important antibiotics ......!

1) Antibiotic :- Chloromycetin ( chloramphenicol )

    Microbial source :- Streptomyces venezuelae 

    Used against :- Pneumonia, Tyhoid, Whooping cough, bacterial                                         urinary infection.

2) Antibiotic :- Penicillin 

     Microbial source :- Penicillium chrysogenum.

     Used against :-  Tonsilitis , sore throat , Rheumatic fever ,                                                 antifugal for ringworm .

3) Antibiotic :-  Erythromycin 

    Microbial source :- Streptomyces erythrus 

    Used against :- Typhoid, Diphtheria , Whooping cough .

4) Antibiotic:-  Streptomycin 

    Microbial sources :- Streptomyces griseus 

    Used against :- Meningitis, pneumonia , Tuberculosis , local                                              infection .