TOXIC AND INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES OF 2 ANTIBIOTICS - MUCONOMYCIN A AND B

Toxicological investigations were conducted on two new antibiotics, Muconomycin A and Muconomycin B. These non‐nitrogenous antibiotics were found to be highly toxic and capable of inducing profound inflammation in the peritoneal cavity of male albino rats. Either antibiotic produced large volumes (10–20 ml) of inflammatory exudate even when injected intraperitoneally in quantities of 1.6 × 10−10 moles. An extensive profile of the electrolytes and proteins found in inflammatory exudates was developed. Simultaneous assays of the blood serum of treated rats provided a basis for comparing the concentrations of constituents of serum with those of the exudate. The results of these assays showed that the exudate contained lower concentrations of sodium and proteins, and greater amounts of potassium, calcium, and phosphorus than the serum. Chloride ion concentrations were variable. Since previous work showed that one of the manifestations of toxicity of these substances was the production of creatinuria, further studies were carried out with ATP/Creatine Phosphotransferase. These studies show that these antibiotics are potent in vitro inhibitors of the enzyme ATP/Creatine Phosphotransferase. Copyright © 1968 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.