Perimycin, also known as aminomycin and fungimycin, is

polyene antibiotic Polyene antimycotics, sometimes referred to as polyene antibiotics, are a class of antimicrobial polyene compounds that target fungi. These polyene antimycotics are typically obtained from some species of '' Streptomyces'' bacteria. Previously, po ...

produced by ''

Streptomyces coelicolor ''Streptomyces albidoflavus'' is a bacterium species from the genus of ''Streptomyces'' which has been isolated from soil from Poland. ''Streptomyces albidoflavus'' produces dibutyl phthalate and streptothricins. Small noncoding RNA Bacter ...

'' var. aminophilus. The compound exhibits

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as crypto ...

properties. __TOC__

Composition

Perimycin is produced naturally as a mixture of three types: A, B and C, with type A being the major component. All types consist of a

polyketide Polyketides are a class of natural products derived from a precursor molecule consisting of a chain of alternating ketone (or reduced forms of a ketone) and methylene groups: (-CO-CH2-). First studied in the early 20th century, discovery, biosynth ...

core with a

perosamine Perosamine (or GDP-perosamine) is a mannose-derived 4-aminodeoxysugar produced by some bacteria. Biological role ''N''-acetyl-perosamine is found in the ''O''-antigen of Gram-negative bacteria such as ''Vibrio cholerae'' ''O''1, ''E. coli'' ''O ...

sugar moiety. The variations occur at the end of the core opposite the perosamine moiety. Perimycin A has an aromatic group in this position, whereas the identities of the analogous groups in the other perimycin types are currently undetermined.

Usage

Polyene antibiotics in general are often toxic to humans and have poor

bioavailability In pharmacology, bioavailability is a subcategory of absorption and is the fraction (%) of an administered drug that reaches the systemic circulation. By definition, when a medication is administered intravenously, its bioavailability is 100%. H ...

. Thus, with the notable exception of

amphotericin B Amphotericin B is an antifungal medication used for serious fungal infections and leishmaniasis. The fungal infections it is used to treat include mucormycosis, aspergillosis, blastomycosis, candidiasis, coccidioidomycosis, and cryptococcosis. Fo ...

, they are often not used clinically. Perimycin has been shown to be an effective antifungal compound, but is not widely used in clinical settings.

References

Macrolide antibiotics Antifungals Polyenes {{drug-stub