Abstract
Summary
Two antibiotics of different chemical and biologic properties have been recovered from a soil actinomycete, Streptomyces sp.). The one is extracellular and resembles actidione. The other, designated as fungicidin, is intracellular. It is both fungistatic and fungicidal and apparently lacks antibacterial action. Its activity is not diminished by the presence of horse blood or serum. Fungicidin is distinguished from other antibiotics within our knowledge by its antimicrobial spectrum and its solubility characteristics. The approximate LD 50 for crude fungicidin administered intraperitoneally to mice is between 20 and 26 mg/kg. Injected subcutaneously, its toxicity is considerably lower. Therapeutically, fungicidin appears to be of value in histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis induced in mice.
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