Canadian Medical Guide > Chemicals and Drugs > Organic Chemicals > Amides > Lactams > Clavulanic Acids Terms and Definitions
Clavulanic Acids
Medical Definition: | Acids, salts, and derivatives of clavulanic acid (C8H9O5N). They consist of those beta-lactam compounds that differ from penicillin in having the sulfur of the thiazolidine ring replaced by an oxygen. They have limited antibacterial action, but block bacterial beta-lactamase irreversibly, so that similar antibiotics are not broken down by the bacterial enzymes and therefore can exert their antibacterial effects. |
Guide Notes: | /biosyn permitted if by living matter |
Previously Indexed: | Amides (1966-1973),Amidohydrolases (1966-1978),Lactams (1974-1982),Penicillinase (1966-1978),beta-Lactamases (1979-1982) |
Clavulanic Acid - Clavulanic acid and its salts and esters. The acid is a suicide inhibitor of bacterial beta-lactamase enzymes from Streptomyces clavuligerus. Administered alone, it has only weak antibacterial activity against most organisms, but given in combination with beta-lactam antibiotics prevents antibiotic inactivation by microbial lactamase. |
Clavulanic Acids Medical Definitions and Terms
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