What is an antibiotic?

Explanation

An antibiotic is a chemical compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of micro organisms such as bacteria, fungi or protozoans. The first group of antibiotics in the market was penicillin, derived from Penicillium fungi. Historically, they are important because they were the first to be able to efficiently treat a whole host of serious infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and syphilis. Penicillin was discovered by the Scottish doctor Alexander Fleming in 1928.