Amoxycillin: a new semi-synthetic penicillin

Abstract

Amoxycillin (alpha-amino-p-hydroxybenzylpenicillin) is a new semi-synthetic penicillin with a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity similar to that of ampicillin. Penicillin-sensitive strains of staphylococci, streptococci, and pneumococci were sensitive to concentrations of 0.1 mug or less of amoxycillin/ml. Strains of Haemophilus influenzae were inhibited by a level of 0.5 mug/ml, and most strains of Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella species, and Streptococcus faecalis were sensitive to a concentration of 5 mug or less of amoxycillin/ml. Penicillinase-producing strains of Staphylococcus aureus and strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, indole-positive Proteus, Klebsiella, and Enterobacter were insensitive to amoxycillin. The new penicillin was bactericidal in activity, as with other penicillins, and its antibacterial activity was not reduced in the presence of serum. After oral administration to volunteer subjects amoxycillin produced serum concentrations twice as high as those obtained with similar doses of ampicillin, and the penicillin was recovered unchanged in high concentrations in the urine. The absorption of amoxycillin was not greatly influenced by food, and administration of probenecid resulted in increased and more prolonged concentrations of amoxycillin in serum.