Abstract
Fosdick, Fancher and Calandra 1 reported that small amounts of synthetic vitamin K (2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone) prevented the production of acid when saliva-glucose mixtures were incubated. Armstrong and Knut-son 2 demonstrated that this effect of 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone is due to the quinone structure of the compound and found that the same result could be obtained, in varying degree, with other naphthotolu-and benzoquinones. Increased interest in the bacteriostatic and bactericidal influence of quinones is derived from the reports relating the activity of at least two antibiotic substances to quinones. Fumigatin (3-hydroxy,-4-methoxy, 2:5-tolu-quinone) produced by Aspergillus futnigatis, possesses a definite ability to inhibit the multiplication of several gram-positive organisms. 3 Certain synthetic dimethyoxy quinones related structurally to fumigatin have been found to exert a remark-able antibacterial effect in vitro. 4 , 5 Waksman and Woodruff 6 note that actinomycin contains a quinone group and report a comparison of the bacteriostatic effect of tolu-pquinone with that of several antibiotic agents. The same quinone was found 7 to exhibit a high degree of effectiveness in interfering with the luminescence of Photo bacterium fischeri and a considerable bacteriostatic action against Streptococcus pyogenes.
The previous report 2 from this laboratory noted that several of the quinones which are effective in the prevention of acid formation in incubated saliva-glucose mixtures had been found to inhibit the growth of certain strains of streptococcus, staphylococcus and pneumococcus in liquid media.
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