Broad-spectrum Antibiotics: Function And Use

Broad-spectrum antibiotics are effective in killing many different bacteria. Read this article about what they are, how they work, and what the consequences of their excessive use can be.

Broad-spectrum antibiotics

Broad-spectrum antibiotics are able to greatly reduce bacterial populations by destroying a large number of different types of microorganisms. Narrow-typed antibiotics, on the other hand, are only used for certain types of bacteria.

They are typically bacteriostatic. Thus, they do not directly destroy the bacteria, but prevent their growth and multiplication, resulting in the disappearance of the bacterial population. Antibiotics do this by blocking bacterial protein synthesis, which prevents them from multiplying. Due to its effectiveness, one big problem with the use of antibiotics is that they can also kill good bacteria.

There is a wide variety of antibiotics, as new antibiotics are constantly being developed to replace the old and ineffective ones. Namely, bacteria often develop resistance to antibiotics.

Next, let’s look at different types of antibiotics.

Amoxicillin and clavulanic acid

Such an antibiotic has a different mechanism of action.

In it, the two compounds work together. Amoxicillin inhibits bacterial wall synthesis, whereas clavulanic acid secures the function of amoxicillin by enhancing it.

These broad-spectrum antibiotics are commonly used in respiratory infections. Because they are used so much and widely, bacteria easily develop resistance to them, causing a global problem in health care.

Tetracyclines

Tetracyclines are a group of compounds with a cooperative chemical structure and mechanism of action. They all have the function of inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis.

The use of tetracyclines is rather limited, as they can have toxic effects on the body. They are usually prescribed for the treatment of chlamydia, brucellosis and mycoplasma.

Chloramphenicol

Chloramphenicol also works by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis. It is used for infections caused by salmonella , certain types of meningitis and pneumonia.

This antibiotic interferes with the enzymes in the liver, which is why its use must be closely monitored by doctors.

Macrolides

Macrolides are also broad-spectrum antibiotics, although they are slightly more specific. As with previous antibiotics, their mechanism of action is to inhibit protein synthesis.

Erythromycin is considered one of the least toxic antibiotics. It is sometimes used to treat pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae or Legionella pneumophila .

Broad spectrum antibiotics and resistance

Broad-spectrum antibiotics are a great option for treating certain infections, but their excessive use poses a widespread problem in health care due to resistance.

Any antibiotic can cause resistance. Bacterial strains are able to transform and develop rapidly, which is why some develop resistance to compounds in antibiotics.

The problem is exacerbated when these resistant bacterial strains spread in the population and no effective antibiotics are available for them. For this reason, new antibiotics (second and third generation antibiotics) are constantly being developed. However, the problem continues and new resistances are emerging.

The misuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics has become a very huge problem. They affect a wide range of microorganisms and can create multidrug resistance in all of them.

At the same time, cross-resistance is also a problem. This is the case when some type of bacterium develops resistance to other antibiotics in the same group.

For this reason, it is important to raise awareness of the dangers of antibiotic abuse. Resistant bacterial strains are already causing problems in healthcare worldwide and are leading to infections that were thought to have already disappeared completely.

Ask your doctor if you have any questions about using antibiotics.