Tetracycline

Tetracycline is an antibiotic used to treat a number of bacterial infections. It is commonly used to treat acne and rosacea. Historically it was important in reducing the number of deaths from cholera.

It is broad-spectrum and of the polyketide class. It is produced by the Streptomyces genus of Actinobacteria. It is a protein synthesis inhibitor.

It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medication needed in a basic health system. Tetracycline is marketed under the brand names Sumycin, Tetracyn, Lymecycline, and Panmycin, among others. Actisite is a thread-like fiber formulation used in dental applications. It is also used to produce several semisynthetic derivatives, which together are known as the tetracycline antibiotics. The term "tetracycline" is also used to denote the four-ring system of this compound; "tetracyclines" are related substances that contain the same four-ring system.

Medical uses

It is first-line therapy for rocky mountain spotted fever (Rickettsia), Lyme disease (B. burgdorferi), Q fever (Coxiella), psittacosis and lymphogranuloma venereum (Chlamydia), mycoplasma pneumoniae and to eradicate nasal carriage of meningococci. Tetracycline tablets were used in the plague outbreak in India in 1992.