What are penicillin antibiotics, and what are they used for?
Penicillins are antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections that are derived from the antibiotic penicillin.
Penicillin antibiotics stop bacteria from multiplying by preventing bacteria from forming the walls that surround them. The walls are necessary to protect the bacteria from their environment, and to keep the contents of the bacterial cell together. Bacteria cannot survive without a cell wall. Penicillin antibiotics are most effective when bacteria are actively multiplying and forming cell walls.
Today, many derivatives of penicillin have been developed that inhibit more types of bacteria than the original life-saving drug. Penicillin itself is active against
- streptococci (including Streptococcus pneumoniae),
- Listeria, Neisseria gonorrhoeae,
- Clostridium,
- Peptococcus, and
- Peptostreptococcus.
However, most staphylococci now are resistant to penicillin.
Other penicillin antibiotics are effective against
Penicillin antibiotics are used to treat many types of infections caused by susceptible bacteria. They are used to treat infections of the middle ear, sinuses, stomach and intestines, bladder, and kidney. They also are used for treating
In 1928, Alexander Fleming noted that mold belonging to the genus Penicillium inhibited the growth of bacteria. Fleming called this unknown antibacterial substance penicillin. Ten years later, a group at Oxford University began to investigate penicillin in laboratory mice. Penicillin was hailed as a miracle drug and saved countless lives in World War II.