Do you know, during World War II, urine of some patients was used to isolate penicillin?
In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered a substance in the bread mold Penicillium that retarded the growth of bacteria.
However, the antibiotic was difficult to isolate. So, it did not become available for clinical use until the late 1930s. During
World War I, penicillin made a major difference in the number of deaths and amputations caused by infected wounds. The only means of producing penicillin, was to isolate it from bread mold and supplies were limited. Demand for the drug was heightened by the fact that kidney tubules secrete penicilin. Renal secretion is so efficient at clearing foreign molecules from the blood that
within 3-4 hrs after a dose of penicillin has been administered, about 80% has been excreted in urine. During the war, the drug was in such short supply that it was common procedure to collect
the urine from patients being treated with penicillin, so that the antibiotic could be isolated and reused. However, this solution was not satisfactory, so researches looked for a way to slow
penicilin secretion. They find a synthetic molecule probenecid that competes with penicillin for the organic anion transporter responsible for secretion. When probenecid is administered
concurrently with penicillin, the transporter removes probenecid
preferentially, prolonging the activity of penicillin in the body. Once mass-produced synthetic penicillin became available and supply was no longer a problem, the medical use of probenecid declined.
