Benzylpenicillin

Benzylpenicillin, also called penicillin G, is a narrow-spectrum β-lactam antibiotic that kills susceptible bacteria by disrupting construction of their cell walls.

Penicillin-binding proteins: Bacterial enzymes that build and remodel peptidoglycan in cell walls. Benzylpenicillin binds these enzymes and blocks the final stages of cell-wall construction.
Neurosyphilis: Syphilis infection involving the central nervous system. High-dose intravenous benzylpenicillin is a standard treatment for this infection.
Phenoxymethylpenicillin: An orally active penicillin antibiotic also known as penicillin V. Unlike benzylpenicillin, it survives stomach acid well enough for reliable oral use.
Alexander Fleming: The Scottish bacteriologist who identified penicillin's antibacterial effect in 1928. His observation of mold-inhibited bacterial growth began the history of penicillin.
Antibiotic era: The period in which antibacterial drugs became widely available for treating bacterial infections. Benzylpenicillin helped establish antibiotics as practical treatments for previously dangerous infections.
Peptidoglycan: A mesh-like polymer of sugars and peptides that gives bacterial cell walls strength. Benzylpenicillin weakens bacteria by disrupting the cross-linking of this wall material.
Rheumatic fever: An inflammatory disease that can follow infection with group A Streptococcus. Penicillin treatment of susceptible streptococcal infection helps prevent this complication.
Cloxacillin: A penicillin antibiotic resistant to many staphylococcal β-lactamases. It treats susceptible penicillinase-producing staphylococci, which benzylpenicillin often cannot.
Penicillium rubens: A species of mold used in industrial production of penicillin. A high-yield strain enabled production of the penicillin used in early mass treatment.
Antibiotic stewardship: Coordinated efforts to use antibiotics appropriately and preserve their effectiveness. Restricting benzylpenicillin to susceptible infections limits unnecessary exposure and resistance selection.

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Penicillin GRelated: This name identifies the same active molecule in pharmacology and chemical references.