Antibiotics

The History of Antibiotics

One of the earliest recorded uses of antibiotics was the application of traditional dressing made from mouldy bread to treat open wounds in Serbia, China, Greece, and Egypt more than 2000 years ago (Hutchings et al 2019). Years later, in 1910, the first clinically used synthetic antibiotic was discovered by Paul Ehrlich. Ehrlich used a synthetic arsenic-based pro-drug, salvarsan, to treat Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis (Hutchings et al 2019). The discovery of sulfonamides in 1932 succeeded salvarsan, and they were the first truly effective, broad-spectrum antimicrobials. Sulfonamides are still in use today but have mostly been replaced by penicillin, which was discovered in 1928 and approved for clinical use in 1943.

In 1944, streptomycin was discovered by Albert Schatz, Elizabeth Bugie, and Selman Waksman (Schatz et al 1944). The identification of streptomycin marked a major milestone in antimicrobial research, as it revealed a second group to Penicillium, Streptomyces, which ubiquitously produced natural products (NPs)—compounds not required for normal growth but active against bacteria (Hutchings et al 2019; Davies and Davies 2010). Along with the discovery of streptomycin, Waksman also coined the term ‘antibiotic’, defining it as a “compound made by a microbe to destroy other microbes” (Hutchings et al 2019; Davies and Davies 2010).

(Davies and Davies 2010; Hutchings et al 2019; Shaughnessy et al 2022)

Antimicrobial Resistance (Davies and Davies 2010)

When used correctly, antibiotic treatments can be highly effective for infectious diseases. However, the success of these therapeutic agents can be compromised by the development of microbial tolerance or resistance to that compound after exposure (Hutchings et al 2019). Following the rapid discovery of antibiotics during the golden age, excessive use of the drugs, coupled with a decline in discovery, has created a crisis in antimicrobial resistance (Hutchings et al 2019). Revisions of antimicrobial drugs can help combat resistant strains, but are often only a temporary solution.

The term “superbug” refers to microbes associated with increased infectiousness due to their resistance to antibiotic treatment. Treatment options for superbugs are limited, and in some cases enhanced transmissibility has been recorded. Tuberculosis is a classic human pathogen that has evolved multiple drug-resistant strains, giving rise to superbug characteristics. Unfortunately, human activity has only exacerbated the problem and antibiotic use in agriculture, other nonhuman applications of antibiotics, and waste disposal have influenced the dissemination of antibiotics into the environment. Despite the importance of antibiotic use in the treatment of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance must be considered when developing treatment regimes.

"Dissemination of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance within agriculture, community, hospital, wastewater treatment, and associated environments" (Davies and Davies 2010).

Given the importance of antibiotic treatments and the rise of antimicrobial resistance, it is vital to continue the search for new antimicrobial agents to help combat these challenges.

References

Davies J, Davies D. 2010. Origins and evolution of antibiotic resistance. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 74(3):417–433. https://doi.org/10.1128/MMBR.00016-10

Hutchings MI, Truman AW, Wilkinson B. 2019. Antibiotics: past, present and future. Current Opinion in Microbiology. 51:72–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2019.10.008

Schatz A, Bugle E, Waksman SA. 1944. Streptomycin, a substance exhibiting antibiotic activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. 55(1):66–69.

Shaughnessy M, Varela MF, & Varela AF. 2022. The life and times of the world’s most famous female scientists. Nova Science Publishers.

Waksman SA. 1953. Streptomycin: background, isolation, properties, and utilization. Science. 118(3062):259–266. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.118.3062.259

Waksman SA, Bugie E, Schatz A. 1944. Isolation of antibiotic substances from soil micro-organisms, with special reference to streptothricin and streptomycin. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 19(23):537–548. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-6196(25)17200-5

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