Bactericidal antibiotic

Options

A. Penicillin
B. Tetracycline
C. Chloramphenicol
D. Erythromycin

Answer

To determine which of the given antibiotics is bactericidal, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the Definitions
- **Bactericidal Antibiotics**: These antibiotics kill bacteria directly.
- **Bacteriostatic Antibiotics**: These antibiotics inhibit the growth of bacteria but do not kill them.

### Step 2: Analyze the Given Options
The options provided are:
1. Penicillin
2. Tetracycline
3. Chloramphenicol
4. Erythromycin

### Step 3: Identify the Nature of Each Antibiotic
- **Penicillin**: This is a well-known bactericidal antibiotic that works by disrupting the bacterial cell wall synthesis, leading to cell lysis and death.
- **Tetracycline**: This is primarily a bacteriostatic antibiotic that inhibits protein synthesis, preventing bacterial growth.
- **Chloramphenicol**: This can be considered bacteriostatic as it inhibits protein synthesis, although it has some bactericidal effects at high concentrations.
- **Erythromycin**: This is generally classified as a bacteriostatic antibiotic as it also inhibits protein synthesis.

### Step 4: Conclusion
Among the options provided, **Penicillin** is the only antibiotic that is classified as bactericidal.

### Final Answer
The bactericidal antibiotic from the options given is **Penicillin**.

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