Question

Penicillin is a/an:
A. Hormone
B. Antibiotic
C. Antipyretic
D. Vitamin

Answer 1

Hint: Penicillin is termed as PEN or PCN. This is widely used in treatment of bacterial infections. Extracted from penicillium moulds or fungi. The bacteria staphylococci and streptococci are responsible for causing serious bacterial health problems and severe diseases, so penicillin was among the first drugs to cure this.

Complete step by step answer:
Penicillin is plant extract from penicillium moulds or fungi and from a group called as penicillium chrysogenum.
Let us discuss the above options one by one:
A. Hormones are various chemicals released within the human body that help in regulation and operating of multiple body parts in humans. They act as messengers and are very important for humans.
B. Any drug that kills bacteria, and such pathogens in the human body is antibiotic. And Penicillin is one among the first drugs to be used in treatment of bacterial infections and thus it is a good antibiotic.
C. Pyre means temperature, so antipyretic is a drug used to treat high fever and reduce body temperature, as we know that body cannot function at high temperature.
C. Vitamins are substances which the body needs to develop and grow. Vitamins come from 2 words: vita and amine meaning life and nitrogen. Most of the vitamins are not produced by the body, so we have to take from outside and thus help in body functioning and growth of body.
Thus, Penicillin is among the first antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections, discovered by Alexander Fleming.
Some common penicillin types are G, K, N, O, V. These can be taken as examples of penicillin and common antibiotics used in treatment of Bacterial infections.\
Thus the right answer is (B) Antibiotic.

Additional information:
The term ‘Antibiotics’ was introduced by Selman Waksman in 1943.
As we have seen there are multiple types of penicillin. One of their structures of penicillin is

It was very effective earlier, but nowadays the bacteria are developing resistance to this penicillin.
So now a stronger type of Antibiotics is given, but still initially this is given in starting.

Note:
Penicillin is an example of early antibiotics, and even today used as first medicine doses to treat bacterial infections. They work in 5 ways: by breaking the cell wall of bacteria, by inhibition of protein synthesis, alteration or change in cell membrane, inhibition or restriction of nucleic acid synthesis, or by antimetabolite activity.
By such endeavours during 1945 and 1972, the life expectancy or average life also increased by 8 years. As many patients used to die due to small bacterial infections, problems and diseases. Today antibiotics are used in even complex medical treatments.