Question

What are antibiotics? Give two examples.

Answer 1

Hint: Some chemicals can destroy certain bacteria. These chemicals are highly specific to destroy only a particular type of bacteria. I can also persist in our body in order to prevent the attack of the same bacteria again.

Complete step by step solution:
-Antibiotics are medicines which help to stop bacterial attack. The bacterial infections are stopped by killing bacteria or stop them from reproducing themselves. Antibiotic generally means ‘against life’. It is an antimicrobial substance which is active against bacteria.
-Some antibiotics can also possess antiprotozoal activity. These are not effective against viruses such as common cold or influenza. Some antibiotics are present naturally and some can be synthesised. Both types have the same goal of killing bacteria and preventing its growth.
-Let us consider one natural example and one synthetic example.
-Natural antibiotics are penicillin. These are derived from penicillium moulds. It is one of the first medications to be effective against many bacterial infections such as staphylococci and streptococci. Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming. The side effects of penicillin are diarrhoea, hypersensitivity, neurotoxicity, nausea, rash and superinfection. Pain and inflammation may be seen at the injection site. Nowadays synthetic penicillin is also produced.
-Sulfonamide is a synthetic antibiotic. It is the basis of several groups of drugs. These kinds of antibiotics contain sulfonamide groups in them. Sulphonamide has the ability to inhibit the growth and multiplication of bacteria but cannot kill it. When used in large doses can cause allergic reaction.
Thus, we can conclude that antibiotics are a medicine used to stop the infection caused by bacteria and the examples are penicillin and sulfonamide.

Note: Each antibiotic drug has a specific role to kill only a kind of bacteria. It cannot be interchanged from one infection to another.