Lecture 4: Fungal Antibiotics Flashcards
what do fungal molds have a history of use in
treating infected wounds
how early does the ebers papyrus race the use of fungal molds to treat wounds and skin problems
4700
what has traditional chinese medicine recommended the use of various fungal molds in..
wound healing
what has north american indigenous ppls used molds to..
treat arrow wounds
What did a number of early bacteriologist note about contaminants of bacterial cultures and fungal moods and other bacterial species?
that occasionally these molds and bacterial species displays strong antibacterial activity
what did alexander fleming note in 1928
that a 2-week old discarded culture of the bacterium Staphyloccoccus aureus was inhibited by a contaminant fungal mold of the genus Penicillium
what did fleming attempt but fail to do?
to isolate sufficient amounts of what was clearly a very potent antibiotic
what did fleming note in his 1929 publication?
noted the “potential antiseptic” properties of Penicillium
who was further research conducted by?
Florey and chain at oxford
what occurred in 1941 concerning penicillium
the first human trials were conducted using a crude extract form P. notatum. yeilds of the active compound were very low, only 2 IU/mL
what occurred by 1943?
rapid advances - about 3,000 IU/mL of penicillin were being isolated from P. chrysogenum grown on a superior culture medium of corn extracts
what occurred by lat 1943?
a sufficient supply of crute penicillin extract was available for use by allied troops fighting in the 2nd world war
what were the two modes of administration?
orally (in a pill form) - but this required large repeated dosages and the crude ext rats produced unpleasant side effects
Intramuscular injection - very effective (only required a single dosage) but frequently resulted in severe pain and allergic reactions
what revolutionized the treatment of bacterial infections
a number of related penicilin alkaloids were purified shortly after the end of WWII
Penicillin G proved effective in…
fighting a greater range of bacterial infections that the original crude extract
