DRUGS

Drugs are complex molecules containing carbon, hydrogen with some heteroatom like oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur. On the basis of their action of different microorganism and mode of action, drugs can be various types. Some common classes of drugs are as follows. Antipyretics: These drugs used to reduce fever. Analgesics: They are painkiller which used to reduce pain Antimalarial drugs: these drugs use to treat malaria Antibiotics: They inhibited the germ growth which caused disease Antiseptics: They used to prevention of germ growth near burns, cuts and wounds

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES The discovery of the first antibiotic was an accident. Alexander Fleming accidentally contaminated a plate with a fungus. He observed a clearly defined region of no bacterial growth where the fungi had contaminated the plate. The area around the fungus was eventually referred to as a zone of inhibition.

…HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES It is estimated that over 80 million prescriptions are written in America each year. 12,500 tons of antibiotics are produced annually. 25-50 % is fed to livestock to increase the rate of weight gain. From 1900 to 1980, mortality from infectious diseases dropped from 797 per 100,000 persons to 36 per 100,000 persons.

…HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES No major discoveries of natural antibiotic substances have occurred for several years. Efforts have now shifted to modifying existing antibiotics. Searching in new places for potential antibiotics has also gained in prominence. Many antibiotics are produced by microorganisms as part of their survival mechanism. They keep other organisms away. They protect the supply of nutrients and oxygen.

Penicillin - the first antibiotic Penicillin was the first antibiotic to be discovered. It was discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, a Scottish scientist working in St Mary's Hospital London. Fleming discovered that mould from a Penicillium fungus had antibacterial properties. The antibiotic was named penicillin after the fungus.

Penicillin - the first antibiotic Fleming could not extract enough penicillin from the mould to use for the treatment of patients In 1938, Howard Florey (an Australian microbiologist), Ernst Chain (a German chemist) and others at Oxford University pioneered the production of penicillin for human treatment. But they had to depend on pharmaceutical companies in the United States to produce penicillin on a large scale. Penicillin was first released for widespread use in the early 1940’s and it saved many lives during World War II. Howard Florey Ernst Chain

Remember!!!! Antibiotics are for bacterial and fungal, not for viral infections