This tool was discovered almost a century ago and brought medicine to a whole new level. Many diseases became curable after its discovery. It's about penicillin - the first antibiotic.
Penicillin inhibits their synthesis in bacteria, which prevents the development and reproduction. The significance of the discovery of this drug for pharmacology cannot be overestimated. Today, penicillin saves lives. But what happened before its discovery? Who made such a gift to humanity? About this in the article.
What is penicillin?
Penicillin inhibits the growth of bacteria and is a product of the vital activity (synthesis) of the penicillium fungus. This is a mold fungus.
What is the peculiarity of this substance? Even those who skipped biology classes at school have heard the word “bacteria” at least a couple of times, and most likely they know that these microorganisms are both positively affecting the human body (lactobacillus, bifidobacteria), and negatively. Some small "monsters" cause dangerous diseases: meningitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, diphtheria - only a hundredth of them. Penicillin suppresses vital processes in bacteria (more on this below), which stops their reproduction. That is, by its type of action, the substance described by us is an antibiotic of a wide spectrum of action.
A bit of history
In 1928 (almost a century ago), an accident unfortunate for a biologist occurred in the laboratory of the scientist Alexander Fleming . By chance, mold got into its container with bacteria. And while the scientist was pondering what to do with the disturbed process of the experiment, he noticed that something was wrong with the bacteria in the tank. As we already know, penicillin inhibits the synthesis of bacteria, which stops their reproduction. The pure bactericidal action of mold fungi surprised and puzzled Fleming. This accident laid the foundation for research. But they started treating the first antibiotic only after two decades.
In the years 1940-1941, British scientists Howard Chlorie and Ernst Chain devoted their knowledge and enthusiasm to the production of penicillin and began to introduce it into pharmacology. At the end of World War II, in 1945, these scientists and the discoverer Fleming deservedly received the Nobel Prize.
The role of penicillin discovery for medicine, or What came before
Many terrible diseases that instantly take away the lives and health of people are a thing of the past thanks to the first antibiotic. The values of this achievement of science cannot be overestimated. Everyone who has ever been sick because of a bacterial infection will agree with this.
Penicillin suppresses protein synthesis in bacteria, that is, it prevents microorganisms from developing and multiplying, and now, thanks to many antibiotics based on it, many infections have become curable with almost no consequences for the body. It is hard and scary to imagine that this was not always the case.
A century ago (not in the Middle Ages, or, in general, the Stone Ages, as many believe), people were dying of diseases that we now proudly carry on our feet, muffling them with a handful of different pills. A banal tonsillitis could take a person's life in a week, pneumonia - even faster. And meningitis was considered incurable, if there were survivors, then they lost their mental activity almost entirely, for which the insidious disease was called the “mind thief”. The discovery that penicillin suppresses their growth and vital activity in bacteria has saved thousands of lives and will save billions more. Many microorganisms are defeated with the help of scientists. It is known that penicillin (or rather mold from fruits and even camel sleds) was treated before opening. However, only official recognition of the vital products of the fungus made the antibiotic available to everyone.
Penicillin Use Today
Despite the fact that after the discovery of the first antibiotic, scientists from many countries discovered other groups of antibacterial agents, the use of penicillin is an effective solution in the treatment of many infectious diseases. Many gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria are sensitive to the drug . For example, the ubiquitous streptococci and staphylococci, corynebacterium that lives in the ground and causes a minimum of rash, maximum - a terrible disease - diphtheria, microbes that cause meningitis and pneumonia, purulent infectious tonsillitis and abscesses.
What are penicillin antibiotics treated
We offer a list of the most famous diseases that are currently treated with penicillin antibiotics (Amoxiclav and Ampicillin, Bicillin, Augmentin):
- Scarlet fever.
- Acute tonsillitis (tonsillitis).
- Pneumonia.
- Anthrax.
- Rheumatism.
- Severe erysipelas.
- Meningitis of bacterial etiology.
- Sepsis.
- Staphylococcal and streptococcal infections.
- Infected purulent wounds of traumatic or postoperative origin.
As you understand, this list is not complete. Staphylococcus alone is of several types and causes dozens of different diseases. Penicillin inhibits the synthesis of cell wall in bacteria, which stops their reproduction, disrupts the life cycle.
Penicillin benefits
Another plus of penicillin antibiotics is their mild effect on the human body. Modern powerful antibiotics sometimes act on the principle of a “cleansing group” - when they enter the body, they destroy the entire microflora - both pathogenic and positive, necessary for adequate functioning of the intestines and immune system. Penicillin inhibits their growth and development in bacteria, therefore, after the destruction of pathogens, the bacteria positive, necessary, remain alive, but in a depressed state. Their balance is not difficult to restore with the help of dairy products or special pharmacy products. The effect of penicillin, despite the fact that many call this antibiotic obsolete, effective, but rather mild, therefore, it is prescribed even for newborns. By the way, staphylococcus, previously occupying maternity hospitals and hospitals and killing babies, has become less dangerous thanks to penicillin.
How penicillin inhibits bacterial activity
How does this remedy work? Let us try to describe its effect and what Alexander Fleming saw in his office a century ago.
Bacteria are microorganisms that are very resistant to various negative factors. Some species live quietly in volcanic lava or Arctic ice. They are everywhere - in soil and water, food, animal hair, on fruits and vegetables. But do not panic and hide in a sterile room - if your body is healthy and strong, the immune system works at full strength, then you should not be afraid of germs. Many also already live freely in our body and become active only after serious stress or its relaxation.
When the bacteria attacked, there is salvation - an antibiotic. For example, penicillin (inhibits bacterial DNA synthesis and interferes with reproduction). How does this happen? When an antibiotic enters the human body, it spreads through the bloodstream throughout the body. The foci of infection are quickly detected by him. In place of the “dislocation” of microbes, penicillin penetrates through the membranes of microorganisms and stops their synthesis. Bacteria lose the ability to feed and develop, which, accordingly, leads to their death.