This new antibiotic, methylenomycin A, was discovered over 50 years ago; however, the antimicrobial properties of its intermediate products have not been studied until now. Now, as the results of a new study show, two derivatives of methylenomycin A turned out to be significantly more powerful antibiotics than the original drug itself.
In the new study reported by EurekAlert, an international team of scientists conducted an analysis of the antibiotic methylenomycin A. It had been synthesized several times before, but the study of the antimicrobial properties of its intermediate products had not been conducted. It has now been revealed that the new antibiotic, methylenomycin C-lactone, is 100 times more effective against resistant infections such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus.
Greg Challis, one of the authors of the study, noted: "This is a new paradigm in the search for antibiotics. By studying intermediate compounds in the biosynthetic pathways of various natural substances, we can identify new, more effective antibiotics to combat superbugs."
