Question

Which one is a broad spectrum antibiotic?
A.Chloramphenicol
B.Plasmoquine
C.Xylocaine
D.None of these

Answer 1

Hint: Anti means against and biotic means life. So, antibiotics are chemical substances which can inhibit the growth or even kill the microorganisms when in low concentration. The antibiotics kill by intervening in the metabolic process of microorganisms.
The term ‘broad spectrum’ means to be effective against a wide range of microorganisms.

Complete step by step answer:
The full range of microorganisms attacked by an antibiotic is known as the spectrum of the antibiotic.
Narrow spectrum antibiotics can target only a few specific types of bacteria such as gram positive bacteria or gram negative bacteria. But broad spectrum antibiotics are those antibiotics which are effective against several different types of harmful bacteria.
The main examples of broad spectrum antibiotics in humans are tetracycline, ofloxacin and chloramphenicol. Chloramphenicol is found to be rapidly absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract and hence can be given orally in case of typhoid, pneumonia and dysentery. So, the correct answer is A.

Plasmoquine or pamaquine is a derivative of quinine and is an anti-malarial drug. So it is not a broad spectrum antibiotic and so B is the incorrect option.
Xylocaine or lidocaine is an anesthetic drug, that is it is used as a medication for numbing the tissues in a specific area of the body. So it is not a broad spectrum antibiotic and so C is the incorrect option.

Hence option A is correct.

Note:
There are also some side effects of using chloramphenicol.
-Use of chloramphenicol can increase the risk of leukemia which is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow.
-The most serious side effect is aplastic anaemia which is the failure of the human body to produce the sufficient number of blood cells.