Which of the following statement is incorrect for antibiotics?

Options

A. An antibiotic must be a product of metabolism.
B. An antibiotic should be effective in low concentrations.
C. An antibiotic is a synthetic substance product as a structural analogue of naturally occuring antibiotic.
D. An antibiotic should promote the growth or survival of microorganisms.

Answer

To determine which statement about antibiotics is incorrect, let's analyze each option step by step:

1. **Statement 1: An antibiotic must be a product of metabolism.**
- Antibiotics can be naturally occurring substances produced by microorganisms (like penicillin from fungi) or can be synthetically manufactured. However, many antibiotics are indeed products of metabolic processes in microbes. Thus, this statement is generally considered correct.

2. **Statement 2: An antibiotic should be effective in low concentrations.**
- Antibiotics are designed to be effective at low concentrations to minimize side effects and toxicity to the patient while still effectively combating bacterial infections. This statement is also correct.

3. **Statement 3: An antibiotic is a synthetic substance product as a structural analogue of naturally occurring antibiotic.**
- Many antibiotics are indeed synthetic derivatives or analogues of naturally occurring antibiotics. For example, amoxicillin is a synthetic derivative of penicillin. This statement is correct as well.

4. **Statement 4: An antibiotic should promote the growth of survival of microorganisms.**
- This statement is incorrect. The primary function of antibiotics is to inhibit the growth or kill bacteria, not to promote their growth. If antibiotics promoted the growth of microorganisms, they would be counterproductive in treating infections.

Based on the analysis, the incorrect statement regarding antibiotics is:

**Answer: Option 4 - An antibiotic should promote the growth of survival of microorganisms.**