Table 1.

Antibiotics derived from natural products (Lewis, 2013; Wright, 2014).

Antibiotic class	Example of clinically used drugs	Biological target
β-lactam	Penicillins: amoxicillin, ampicillin, piperacillin, cephalosporins: cephalexin, cefaclor, ceftazidime, Carbapenems: imipenem, meropenem	Peptidoglycan synthesis; transpeptidases
Glycopeptide	Vancomycin	Peptidoglycan synthesis; binding to acyl-D-Ala-D-Ala
Macrolide	Erythromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin	Ribosome; blocks peptide exit tunnel in the large subunit
Lincosamide	Clindamycin	Ribosome; blocks peptide exit tunnel in the large subunit
Aminoglycoside	Gentamicin, tobramycin, amikacin	Ribosome; impairs cognate aminoacyl-tRNA recognition
Streptogramin	Synercid (quinupristin + dalfopristin)	Ribosome: inhibits peptidyl transfer, blocks peptide exit tunnel in large subunit
Tetracycline	Doxycycline, minocycline	Ribosome: inhibits aminoacyl-tRNA transfer, blocks peptide exit tunnel in small subunit
Rifamycin	Rifampin	RNA polymerase
Lipopeptide	Daptomycin	Cell membrane
Cationic peptide	Colistin	Cell membrane