Desosamine

Desosamine is a 3-(dimethylamino)-3,4,6-trideoxyhexose found in certain macrolide antibiotics (contain a high level of microbial resistance) such as the commonly prescribed erythromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, methymycin, narbomycin, oleandomycin, picromycin and roxithromycin. As the name suggests, these macrolide antibiotics contain a macrolide or lactone ring and they are attached to the ring desosamine which is crucial for bactericidal activity. The biological action of the desosamine-based macrolide antibiotics is to inhibit the bacterial ribosomal protein synthesis. These antibiotics which contain desosamine are widely used to cure bacterial infections in human respiratory system, skin, muscle tissues, and urethra.