[The origin of cephalosporins]

Abstract

The origin of cephalosporins is investigated. In 1945, Giuseppe Brotzu, who was the rector of the University of Cagliari in Sardina, Italy, isolated a cephalosporin-producing strain, Cephalosporium acremonium. Although as many as 48 cephalosporin derivatives have been developed in Japan, how a cephalosporin-producing organism was discovered is not widely known here. This article contains the first Japanese translation of Brotzu's Italian publication entitled "Ricerche su di un nuovo antibiotico (Research on a new Antibiotic)" and reveals how cephalosporin was developed, together with a cross reference to the first report of penicillin, a similar antibiotic compound, which was discovered by A. Fleming in 1928. Brotzu's brief academic and social background is also presented.