Any of a large group of natural or semisynthetic antibacterial antibiotics derived directly or indirectly from strains of fungi of the genus Penicillium and other soil-inhabiting fungi grown on special culture media.
They exert a bactericidal as well as bacteriostatic effect on susceptible bacteria by interfering with the final stages of the synthesis of peptidoglycans, a substance in the bacterial cell wall.
They can be classified according to their differing antibacterial spectrum: penicillin G and congeners (penicillin C), anti-staphylococcal penicillins (methicillin, dicloxacillin), extended spectrum penicillins (ampicillin and amoxicillin), and extended spectrum penicillins with beta-lactamase inhibitors (amoxicillin and clavulanate, ampicillin and sulbactam).
See: Amoxicillin, Clavulanic acid.
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