History of antibiotics

Although potent antibiotic compounds for treatment of human diseases caused by bacteria (such as tuberculosis, bubonic plague, or leprosy) were not isolated and identified until the twentieth century, the first known use of antibiotics was by the ancient Chinese over 2,500 years ago. Many other ancient cultures, including the ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks already used molds and plants to treat infections, owing to the production of antibiotic substances by these organisms. At that time, however, the compounds having antibiotic activity and present in moulds or plants were unknown.

The antibiotic properties of Penicillium sp. were first described in France by Ernest Duchesne in 1897. However, his work went by without much notice from the scientific community until Alexander Fleming 's discovery of Penicillin.

Modern research on antibiotic therapy began in Germany with the development of the narrow-spectrum antibiotic Salvarsan by Paul Ehrlich in 1909, for the first time allowing an efficient treatment of the widespread problem of Syphilis. The drug, which was also effective against other spirochaetal infections, is no longer in use in modern medicine.

Antibiotics were further developed in Britain following the re-discovery of Penicillin in 1928 by Alexander Fleming. More than ten years later, Ernst Chain and Howard Florey became interested in his work, and came up with the purified form of penicillin.

The term "antibiotic" was originally used to refer only to substances extracted from a fungus or other microorganism, but has come to include also many synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs that have antibacterial effects.

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