ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS OF BIOLOGIC ORIGIN

Abstract

From the point of view of chemotherapy knowledge of the origin of an antimicrobial agent is less important than an understanding of its nature and of its chemical and biologic properties. Quinine and penicillin are obtained today from biologic sources; tomorrow they may be synthesized in the chemical laboratory; but whatever their mode of production, the student of infectious diseases will remain primarily concerned with their specificity for certain strains and stages of parasites, the mechanism of their action on the susceptible cells and their physiologic and pathologic effects on the host. During the past few years great and perhaps excessive emphasis has been placed on micro-organisms as sources of antimicrobial agents. It must be kept in mind, however, that the production of these agents is not an exclusive attribute of micro-organisms but is widely distributed in the plant and animal kingdom.¹ Suffice it to mention that among plant