Chemistry in Everyday Life

Food Quality Chemistry

Antimicrobials

• Inhibit the pathogenic action of microbes such as bacteria, fungi, virus and other parasites.

• Example: Antibiotics, antiseptics, disinfectants

Antibiotics

• Used for treating infections because of their low toxicity for humans and animals

• Inhibit the growth, and even destroy, microorganisms

• Sulpha drugs contain sulphanilamide, which is the real active compound. One of the most effective one is sulphapyridine.

• Structures of some antibiotics are as follows:

• Have either cidal (killing) effect or a static (inhibitory) effect on microbes. A few examples are listed in the given table.

Bactericidal	Bacteriostatic
Penicillin	Erythromycin
Aminoglycosides	Tetracycline
Ofloxacim	Chloramphenicol

• Antibiotics which kill or inhibit a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria are called broad-spectrum antibiotics. Ampicillin and amoxicillin, which are synthetic modifications of penicillin, are broad-spectrum antibiotics.

• Chloramphenicol is a broad-spectrum antibiotic which is used orally for the treatment of typhoid, dysentery, acute fever and pneumonia.

• Vancomycin and ofloxacin are broad-spectrum antibiot…