What is Tetracycline?
[[File:Tetracycline.svg|thumb|300px|Structure of tetracycline]] '''Tetracycline''' is a family of [[antibiotic]]s discovered as natural products in 1945. It is a [[broad-spectrum antibiotic]] because it works against a range of [[bacteria]]. Tetracyclines was first prescribed in 1948.<ref>Klajn, Rafal, [http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/tetracycline/tetracycline.htm Chemistry and chemical biology of tetracyclines], retrieved 20 June 2007.</ref><ref>Jukes, Thomas H. Some historical notes on chlortetracycline. ''Reviews of Infectious Diseases'' '''7'''(5):702-707 (1985).</ref> It is produced naturally by the ''[[Streptomyces]]'' [[genus]] of [[Actinobacteria]]. It is a [[protein synthesis]] [[inhibitor]]. In 1950, [[Harvard University]] professor [[Robert Burns Woodward]] worked out the chemical structure of the related [[oxytetracycline]] ([[Terramycin]]). The patent protection for its production was also first issued in 1950. Tetracycline is an [[antibiotic]] used to treat a number of [[bacterial]] infections. It is commonly used to treat [[Acne vulgaris|acne]] and [[rosacea]]. Historically it was important in reducing the number of deaths from [[cholera]]. It is on the [[World Health Organization]]'s List of Essential Medicines.<ref>{{cite web|title=WHO Model List of EssentialMedicines|url=http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/93142/1/EML_18_eng.pdf?ua=1|work=World Health Organization|accessdate=22 April 2014|date=October 2013}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Antibiotics]] [[Category:Organonitrogen compounds]]