Natural Products as Drugs - Biotechnology and Your Health: Pharmaceutical Applications - page 33

and 1955, the death rate from TB in the United States fell from
39.9 deaths per 100,000 to 9.1 per 100,000.
Stop and Consider
What role does an antibiotic play for the organism producing it?
Why is this important?
CONNECTIONS
Historically, plants and other living creatures have been used as
medical treatments, and early chemically produced drugs were
based on or identical to compounds extracted from natural sources.
Nature continues to provide modern drugs, and searches still
begin with systematic laboratory testing or by following clues from
traditional folk healers. Modern chemical methods are used to
improve upon what is found in nature. Some of these drugs, such as
paclitaxel, provide major improvements in medical care.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the concepts discussed in this chapter,
search the Web using the keywords:
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , antibiotics , Taxol