What is an ionophore antibiotic?
Ionophore antibiotics are fermentation products of different Streptomyces species and other fungi. They are polyether antibiotics, which exert their antibiotic action by disrupting the transport of ions in the cell membranes.
How does an ionophore work?
By forming complexes with ions, ionophores rapidly shuttle ions across the membrane of the sporozoites at several thousand ions per second1. To attempt to counter the ion imbalance, the parasite uses energy to remove the excess ions.
Are there scientific studies on the risk of human resistance resulting from animal antibiotic use?
Using antibiotics in animals may raise the risk of transmitting drug-resistant bacteria to humans either by direct infection or by transferring “resistance genes from agriculture into human pathogens,” researchers caution .
How antibiotic resistance affects humans and animals?
Bacteria, not humans or animals, become antibiotic-resistant. These bacteria may infect humans and animals, and the infections they cause are harder to treat than those caused by non-resistant bacteria. Antibiotic resistance leads to higher medical costs, prolonged hospital stays, and increased mortality.
What are the 2 types of ionophores?
Two types of these molecules are known: the mobile carriers and the channel-forming ionophores.
Why are ionophores toxic?
Ionophores have a pharmacologic effect by changing the flux of certain electrolytes across cell membranes. The doses of ionophores normally used in feed for other animals can be highly toxic to horses. Cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle, and the neurologic system are affected by ionophore toxicity.
How can people get infections with resistant bacteria from animals?
People can get antibiotic-resistant intestinal infections by handling or eating contaminated food or coming in contact with animal waste (poop), either through direct contact with animals and animal environments or through contaminated drinking or swimming water.
Which type of bacteria are typically more difficult to treat using antibiotics?
Gram-negative bacteria are resistant to multiple drugs and are increasingly resistant to most available antibiotics. These bacteria have built-in abilities to find new ways to be resistant and can pass along genetic materials that allow other bacteria to become drug-resistant as well.
Why are ionophores important?
Ionophores play a significant role in improving the health and feed efficiency of livestock and poultry production. Of the two major subclasses, carboxylic ionophores form zwitterionic complexes with cations and promote electrically neutral cation exchange diffusion.
What does a sodium ionophore do?
Ionophores are a family of chemicals that reversibly bind ions. They are usually lipid/fat-soluble, enabling ion transference through lipid-bilayers of cell membranes. Sodium ionophores used in ISE serve as an affordable method of chemical detection that yields high selectivity in its results.