Question

Which of the following is bacteriostatic?
A.Penicillin
B.Erythromycin
C.Amino glycodin
D.Ofloxacin

Answer 1

Hint: Bacteriostatic is the agent that prevents the growth or reproduction of bacteria. It limits the growth of bacteria by interfering with bacterial protein production, DNA replication, etc. It keeps bacteria in the stationary phase of growth.

Complete step by step answer:
Antibiotics are medications that slow down or destroy the growth of bacteria. It includes a range of powerful drugs. It is used to treat diseases caused by bacteria. Erythromycin is a bacteriostatic drug (a drug which inhibits the growth of organisms) whereas ofloxacin, amino glycodin, and penicillin are bactericidal drugs (the drug which kills the organism in the body). It is a macrolide antibiotic (these are hydrophobic and basic compounds). It is used instead of penicillin for the people who are allergic to penicillin. It is poorly soluble in water.
It contains 3 characteristics part of the molecules:
-A highly substituted macrocyclic lactone: aglycone.
-A ketone group
-An amino deoxysugar
-Its chemical formula is ${C_{37}}{H_{67}}{N_1}{O_{13}}$.

And hence the correct option is B.

Additional Information Erythromycin shows bactericidal activity particularly at higher concentrations and prevents the growth of bacteria by inhibiting their protein synthesis.
It binds to the ${23_s}$ RNA molecule in the \[50S\] ribosomal subunit. Its binding site is near the peptidyl transferase center and peptide chain elongation is also prevented.


Note:
Some students get confused between bactericidal and bacteriostatic. Bactericidal is an antibiotic which kills the bacteria and may result in toxic shock syndrome whereas bacteriostatic inhibits the growth of bacterial cells and has no or little side effects.