Skip to main content
PMC home page
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy logoLink to Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
. 1979 Mar;15(3):361–367. doi: 10.1128/aac.15.3.361

Avermectins, New Family of Potent Anthelmintic Agents: Producing Organism and Fermentation

Richard W Burg 1, Brinton M Miller 1, Edward E Baker 1, Jerome Birnbaum 1, Sara A Currie 1, Robert Hartman 1, Yu-Lin Kong 1, Richard L Monaghan 1, George Olson 1, Irving Putter 1, Josefino B Tunac †, Hyman Wallick 1, Edward O Stapley 1, Ruiko Oiwa 2, Satoshi Ōmura 2
PMCID: PMC352666  PMID: 464561

Abstract

The avermectins are a complex of chemically related agents which exhibit extraordinarily potent anthelmintic activity. They are produced by a novel species of actinomycete, NRRL 8165, which we have named Streptomyces avermitilis. The morphological and cultural characteristics which differentiate the producing organism from other species are described. The avermectins have been identified as a series of macrocyclic lactone derivatives which, in contrast to the macrolide or polyene antibiotics, lack significant antibacterial or antifungal activity. The avermectin complex is fully active against the gastrointestinal nematode Nematospiroides dubius when fed to infected mice for 6 days at 0.0002% of the diet. Fermentation development, including medium modification and strain selection, resulted in increasing the broth yields from 9 to 500 μg/ml.

Full text

PDF
367

Images in this article

364Image
on p.364

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Brown W. E., Szanto J., Meyers E., Kawamura T., Arima K. Taeniacidal activity of streptothricin antibiotic complex S15-1 (SQ 21,704). J Antibiot (Tokyo) 1977 Oct;30(10):886–889. doi: 10.7164/antibiotics.30.886. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cassinelli G., Cotta E., D'Amico G., Della Bruna C., Grein A., Mazzoleni R., Ricciardi M. L., Tintinelli R. Thaimycins, new anthelmintic and antiprotozoal antibiotics produced by Streptomyces michiganensis var. amylolyticus var. nova. Arch Mikrobiol. 1970;70(3):197–210. doi: 10.1007/BF00407710. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Della Bruna C., Ricciardi M. L., Sanfilippo A. Axenomycins, new cestocidal antibiotics. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1973 Jun;3(6):708–710. doi: 10.1128/aac.3.6.708. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Egerton J. R., Ostlind D. A., Blair L. S., Eary C. H., Suhayda D., Cifelli S., Riek R. F., Campbell W. C. Avermectins, new family of potent anthelmintic agents: efficacy of the B1a component. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1979 Mar;15(3):372–378. doi: 10.1128/aac.15.3.372. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HAMMILL R. L., HOEHN M. ANTHELMYCIN, A NEW ANTIBIOTIC WITH ANTHELMINTIC PROPERTIES. J Antibiot (Tokyo) 1964 May;17:100–103. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Haneishi T., Arai M., Kitano N., Yamamoto S. Aspiculamycin, a new cytosine nucleoside antibiotic. 3. Biological activities, in vitro and in vivo. J Antibiot (Tokyo) 1974 May;27(5):339–342. doi: 10.7164/antibiotics.27.339. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. KELLEY G. W., HARRIS L., ALEXANDER M. A., OLSEN L. S. Hygromycin B for removing Thysanosoma actinoides, fringed tapeworms from feedlot lambs. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1960 May 15;136:505–507. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Loebenberg D., Counels M., Waitz J. A. Antibiotic G418, a new micrommomospora-produced aminglycoside with activity apainst protozoa and helminths: antiparasitic activity. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1975 Jun;7(6):811–815. doi: 10.1128/aac.7.6.811. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Miller T. W., Chaiet L., Cole D. J., Cole L. J., Flor J. E., Goegelman R. T., Gullo V. P., Joshua H., Kempf A. J., Krellwitz W. R. Avermectins, new family of potent anthelmintic agents: isolation and chromatographic properties. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1979 Mar;15(3):368–371. doi: 10.1128/aac.15.3.368. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. PARK J. T., JOHNSON M. J. A submicrodetermination of glucose. J Biol Chem. 1949 Nov;181(1):149–151. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Shimura M., Sekizawa Y., Iinuma K., Naganawa H., Kondo S. Destomycin C, a new member of destomycin family antibiotics. J Antibiot (Tokyo) 1975 Jan;28(1):83–84. doi: 10.7164/antibiotics.28.83. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Tanowitz H. B., Wittner M. Paromomycin in the treatment of Diphyllobothrium latum infection. J Trop Med Hyg. 1973 Jun;76(6):151–152. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES