DESCRIPTIONS OF ANTIBIOTICS 



383 



grasserioinycin, geomycin, lavendulin, mycothri- 

 cin, novomycin, pleocidin, racemomycin, streptin, 

 streptolin, roseocitrin B, and viomycin, as well as 

 others less well described. 



Method of extraction: Essentially like that for 

 streptothricin (10, 14). 



Chemical and physical properties: All substatices 

 above except streptothricin III: Colorless basic sub- 

 stances. Water-soluble. Helianthates and reineck- 

 ates precipitate as platelets. Helianthates are 

 soluble in 50 to 100 per cent methanol; slightly 

 soluble in ethanol; scarcely soluble in propyl, 

 isopropyl, butyl, and amyl alcohols, chloroform, 

 and ether. Hydrochlorides give positive Molisch, 

 Tollen, Fehling, indole, and glucosamine tests; 

 negative maltol, biuret, ninhydrin, xanthopro- 

 teic, Adamkiewitz, Liebermann, Neubauer, and 

 Sakaguchi tests (4). Streptothricin III: Positive 

 Molisch and glucosamine tests. Negative Saka- 

 guchi, maltol, Fehling, FeCl? , ninhydrin, biuret, 

 Millon, and Hopkins-Cole tests (14). Melting 

 points of the helianthates and reineckates have 

 been reported as follows (the first figure is for the 

 helianthate, the second for the reineckate) : anti- 

 biotic 24: 275-285°C, 185-210°C; antibiotic 39: 

 225-230°C, 198-201°C; antibiotic 259: 244°C, 193- 

 196°C; antibiotic 120 (Seki) : 224-230°C, 184-185°C; 

 roseocitrin A: 223-225 °C (no report for the reineck- 

 ate) ; streptothricin III: 208-211°C (decomposi- 

 tion), 172-178°C (decomposition). 



Biological activity: All have activity which is 

 qualitativelj^ like that of streptothricin, with 

 small variations. Antibiotics 20, 24, 39, and strep- 

 tothricin III have relatively low activity on Staph, 

 aureus. Antibiotics 259 and 120 are more active. 

 Antibiotic 39 diffuses readily in agar, 24 and 259 

 to a lesser degree, and 120 and 20 do not diffuse 

 readily. Cross-resistance with each other and par- 

 tial cross-resistance with streptomycin (4, 14). 

 In vivo: Antibiotic 20: Active on Pasteurella tu- 

 larensis in mice (13). Antibiotic 259: Active on Sal. 

 typhosa in mice (15). Antibiotic 120: Inactive in 

 mice on Hemophilus pertussis (6). Streptothricin 

 III: Active on influenza PR 8 virus (tissue culture 

 of chick embryo chorioallantoic cells), but has no 

 virucidal effect and does not prevent adsorption 

 on the host cell. Viral development affected if anti- 

 l)iotic added as late as 10 hours postinfection (14). 



Toxicity: Antibiotic 20: Reputed to have "low" 

 toxicity, of the order of that of roseomycin (6). 

 Antibiotic 24: A single intravenous dose of 5 mg 

 ()er mouse is lethal in 12 days (4), but 20 mg per 

 mouse, intramuscularly, is tolerated. Antibiotic 

 39: A single intravenous dose of 5 mg per mouse is 

 lethal in (> days (4). Antibiotic 259: A single intra- 



venous dose of 1.5 mg per mouse is lethal in G days 

 (4). Antibiotic 120: A single intravenous dose of 10 

 mg per mouse is tolerated (4). Streptothricin III: 

 A single intravenous dose of 0.63 mg per mouse is 

 nontoxic; 2.5 mg per mouse is lethal in 4 days 

 (14). 

 References: 



1. Waksman, S. A. and Woodruff, H. B. Proc. 



Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med. 49: 207-210, 1942. 



2. Hutchinson, D. et al. Arch. Biochem. 22: 



16-30, 1949. 



3. Whiffen, A. J. and Peterson, D. H. Am. J. 



Botany 36:817,1949. 



4. Kuroya, M. et al. J. Antibiotics (Japan) 



3: 223-228, 1950. 



5. Kikuchi, M. J. Antibiotics (Japan) 3: 



839-844, 1950. 



6. Nagao, I. J. Antibiotics (Japan) 4: 24- 



33, 1951. 



7. Kurosawa, H. J. Antibiotics (Japan) 4: 



183-193, 1951. 



8. Nagao, I. Tohoku J. Exptl. Med. 54: 250, 



1951. 



9. Miyamori, A. Tohoku J. Exptl. iMed. 54: 



288, 1951. 



10. Kuroya, M. et al. Tohoku J. Exptl. Med. 



55: 289-297, 1952. 



11. Nagao, I. Tohoku J. Exptl. Med. .58: 169- 



173, 1953. 



12. See references under roseocitrin B. 



13. Miyamori, A. J. Antibiotics (Japan) 5: 



163-165. 1952. 



14. Inoue,M. J. Antibiotics (Japan) 6A:122- 



129, 1953. 



15. Nagao, I. Tohoku J. Exptl. Med. 58: 169- 



173, 1953. 



16. Nakanishi, K. et al. Bull. Chem. Soc. 



Japan 27: 539-543, 1954. 



17. Carter, Yi. E. ct al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 



76: 566-569, 1954. 



18. van Tamelen, E. E. et al. J. Am. Chem. 



Soc. 78: 4817-4818, 1956. 



19. Nakanishi, K. and Ohashi, M. Bull. Chem. 



Soc. Japan 3(»: 725-728, 1957. 



20. Goto,T.etal. Bull. Chem. Soc. Japan 3(1: 



729-737, 1957. 



21. Horowitz, M. I. Thesis, Rutgers Univer- 



sity, 1957. 



22. Horowitz, M. I. and Schaffner, C. P. Anal. 



Chem. 30: 1616-1620, 1958. 



23. Taniyama, H. and Takemura, S. J. Pharm. 



Soc. Japan 77: 1210-1217, 1957. 



24. Woodruff, H. B. and McDaniel, L. E. 8th 



Symposium Soc. Gen. Microbiol. 29-48, 

 1958. 



