Learn More About Penicillin And Its Uses

Penicillin is an antibiotic derived from the fungus Penicillium . This great discovery in the medical world is attributed to Alexander Fleming, a Scottish bacteriologist. He discovered penicillin in 1928.

However, experts managed to produce it in large quantities only ten years later. Those responsible for this task included biochemist Ernst Boris Chain and pathologist Howard Florey.

Penicillin is an antibiotic belonging to the family of beta-lactams (β-lactams). This antibiotic has a broad spectrum of action and is effective against many different bacteria, including:

• pneumococci
• streptococci

• Clostridium tetani (which cause tetanus)
• meningococci

We can say that it was an astonishing discovery in the medical field because, when discovered, it helped to eradicate various diseases that proved fatal to patients of the time. These included sepsis, gonorrhea and even scarlet fever.

However, medical professionals have significantly abused the administration of both penicillin and the synthetic and semi-synthetic derivatives discovered over time. As a result, bacteria have become resistant to these antibiotics. This is a serious global health problem.

Today, experts continue to explore new modes of action and therapeutic alternatives to combat these resistant bacteria.

What are beta-lactam antibiotics?

In general, these types of antibiotics are narrow spectrum, as they are effective only against gram-positive bacteria and kill bacteria. However, penicillin is broad spectrum.

These drugs are administered orally and parenterally. They are also very safe because the possible side effects are limited to hypersensitivity reactions. However, these reactions must be controlled as they can cause anaphylactic shock.

In addition, although they can cross the placental barrier, doctors can prescribe them to pregnant women because of the good safety profile they have shown in clinical trials. In general, these antibiotics have many uses.

Types of Beta-Lactam Antibiotics

Among the groups that make up this family of antibiotics, we can find the following:

• Penicillin
• Cephalosporin
• Monobactams, which fight gram-negative bacteria
• carbapenem

Mechanism of action: how does penicillin work in the body?

Penicillin is a drug that kills and inhibits bacterial growth. For this reason, experts consider it a bactericidal drug. However, it can only kill microorganisms that grow and multiply, not those that are inactive.

In addition, as we mentioned above, penicillin belongs to the group of -lactam antibiotics. This family of drugs inhibits the synthesis of the bacterial cell wall structure, which is essential for the life of bacteria, in order to kill these microorganisms.

It thereby inhibits the transpeptidation process and ultimately prevents the synthesis of peptidoglycan. In general, the antibiotic must enter the cell and, once there, bind to the proteins of penicillins.

Side effects: allergy to penicillin

Although penicillin is relatively safe, it can cause several side effects. For example, there may be hypersensitivity or an allergy to penicillin. Although this is the most important side effect, the severity varies from patient to patient. The symptoms include:

• Episodic rash
• Urticaria (hives)
• Anaphylactic shock

Other reactions that this drug can trigger include gastrointestinal disturbances such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, and additional infections such as candidiasis.

Conclusion

The discovery of penicillin was a breakthrough in medicine. This drug helped eradicate many of the deadly diseases of the time.

However, the misuse of this drug, as well as other discoveries, has led to the development of antibiotic resistance. Thus, these antibiotics have significantly lost their effectiveness. There is therefore a need for new antibiotics.