Erythromycin is a macrolide antibiotic that has an antimicrobial spectrum similar to or slightly wider than that of penicillin, and is often prescribed for people who have an allergy to penicillins. For respiratory tract infections, it has better coverage of atypical organisms, including Mycoplasma and legionellosis. In structure, this macrocyclic compound contains a 14-membered lactone ring with ten asymmetric centers and two sugars (L-cladinose and D-desosamine), making it a compound very difficult to produce via synthetic methods. Erythromycin displays bacteriostatic activity or inhibits growth of bacteria, especially at higher concentrations, but the mechanism is not fully understood. By binding to the 50s subunit of the bacterial 70s rRNA complex, protein synthesis and subsequent structure and function processes critical for life or replication are inhibited.
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