In this essay we will discuss about antibiotics and its types. Essay # 1. Meaning of Antibiotics: Antibiotics (Gk. anti = against, bios = life) constitute the major part of chemotherapeutic agents of modern times that are used for treatment of diseases. They were defined by S.A. Waksman in 1945 as chemical substances produced by microorganisms which can kill or [...]
'The antibiotics' are secondary metabolites or biochemical secreted by microorganisms which, ' in low concentration, inhibit the growth or kill other microorganisms, i.e., the antibiotics are 'antimicrobial agents of microbial origin'. Although some 6,000 antibiotics are known to exist, only about 100 are marketed. About 200 new antibiotics are discovered every year. Microorganisms belonging to three orders viz., Eubacteriales, Actinomyces [...]
Here is a list of top three antibiotics:- 1. Penicillins 2. Tetracyclines and Chloramphenicol 3. Streptomycin. 1. Penicillins: Penicillins, a group of several penicillin, differ from one another in the side chain attached to its amino group. Most of these penicillins are 6-aminopenicillanic acid derivatives and all have β-lactam ring which is responsible for the antibiotic activity (Fig. 20.16). Pencillin [...]