Medical uses and spectrum of activity
- Treatment of acne
- Treatment of cholera
- Treatment of brucellosis
- Treatment of plague
- Treatment of malaria
- Broad spectrum of antibiotic action
- Bacteriostatic activity against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria
- Exceptions: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus spp.
- Acquired resistance in many pathogenic organisms
- Useful in managing infections by certain intracellular bacterial pathogens

Anti-eukaryote use
- Activity against certain eukaryotic parasites
- Effective against dysentery caused by an amoeba
- Effective against malaria caused by a plasmodium
- Effective against balantidiasis caused by a ciliate

Use as a biomarker
- Tetracycline hydrochloride used as a marker of bone growth in humans
- Incorporated into mineralizing bone and detected by fluorescence
- Double tetracycline labeling used to measure bone growth
- Used as a biomarker in wildlife to detect consumption of medicine-containing baits

Side effects
- Discoloration of permanent teeth, especially in children
- Inactivation by calcium, aluminum, iron, and zinc ions
- Skin photosensitivity
- Drug-induced lupus and hepatitis
- Breathing complications and anaphylactic shock in some individuals

History and society
- Tetracyclines discovered by Benjamin Minge Duggar in 1948
- Tetracycline antibiotic, chlortetracycline (Aureomycin), discovered in 1945
- Structure of Aureomycin elucidated in 1952 and published in 1954
- Tetracycline received FDA approval in 1954
- Tetracycline can be identified in bones using ultraviolet light
- Nubian mummies from 350-550 A.D. showed patterns of fluorescence similar to modern tetracycline-labeled bone
- Price of tetracycline in the USA rose significantly from 2013 to 2015
- Tetracycline marketed under various brand names
- Tetracycline used in genetic engineering and research

Tetracycline (Wikipedia)

This article is about the specific antibiotic. For the family of antibiotics, see Tetracycline antibiotics.

Tetracycline, sold under various brand names, is an oral antibiotic in the tetracyclines family of medications, used to treat a number of infections, including acne, cholera, brucellosis, plague, malaria, and syphilis.

Tetracycline

Clinical data
Pronunciation	/ˌtɛtrəˈsaɪkliːn/
Other names	TE/TET/TC/TCY
AHFS/Drugs.com	Monograph
MedlinePlus	a682098
License data	US FDA: Tetracycline
Pregnancy category	AU: D
Routes of administration	By mouth
ATC code	A01AB13 (WHO) D06AA04 (WHO) J01AA07 (WHO) S01AA09 (WHO) S02AA08 (WHO) S03AA02 (WHO) QG01AA90 (WHO) QG51AA02 (WHO) QJ51AA07 (WHO)
Legal status
Legal status	In general: ℞ (Prescription only)
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability	80%
Metabolism	Not metabolized
Elimination half-life	8–11 hours, 57–108 hours (kidney impairment)
Excretion	Urine (>60%), feces
Identifiers
CAS Number	60-54-8 Y 64-75-5 (hydrochloride)
PubChem CID	54685734
DrugBank	DB00759 Y
ChemSpider	10257122 Y
UNII	F8VB5M810T
KEGG	D00201 Y
ChEBI	CHEBI:27902 Y
ChEMBL	ChEMBL1440 Y
PDB ligand	TAC (PDBe, RCSB PDB)
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)	DTXSID7023645
ECHA InfoCard	100.000.438
Chemical and physical data
Formula	C22H24N2O8
Molar mass	444.440 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
SMILES C[C@]1(c2cccc(c2C(=O)C3=C([C@]4([C@@H](C[C@@H]31)[C@@H](C(=C(C4=O)C(=O)N)O)N(C)C)O)O)O)O
InChI InChI=1S/C22H24N2O8/c1-21(31)8-5-4-6-11(25)12(8)16(26)13-9(21)7-10-15(24(2)3)17(27)14(20(23)30)19(29)22(10,32)18(13)28/h4-6,9-10,15,25,27-28,31-32H,7H2,1-3H3,(H2,23,30)/t9-,10-,15-,21+,22-/m0/s1 Y Key:OFVLGDICTFRJMM-WESIUVDSSA-N Y
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Common side effects include vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and loss of appetite. Other side effects include poor tooth development if used by children less than eight years of age, kidney problems, and sunburning easily. Use during pregnancy may harm the baby. It works by inhibiting protein synthesis in bacteria.

Tetracycline was patented in 1953 and was approved for prescription use in 1954. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Tetracycline is available as a generic medication. Tetracycline was originally made from bacteria of the genus Streptomyces.