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Growth inhibition of bacteria by tributylgermanium acetate and its reversal by blood constituents

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Abstract

Growth inhibition ofMycobacterium phlei by tributylgermanium acetate can be reversed by addition of large amounts of blood or blood serum to the nutrient medium; the blood erythrocyte fraction is inactive.

On the other hand growth inhibition of the lactic acid bacteriaStreptococcus lactis andLeuconostoc mesenteroides can be counteracted by traces of blood or its crythrocyte fraction, by hemin and by catalase. Blood serum even in large amounts is ineffective.

Whereas tributylgermanium acetate is highly active against most lactic acid bacteria studied, the antagonistic action of blood or hemin is found only with the species named. The possible mechanism of this antagonism is discussed.

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  1. Institute for Organic Chemistry TNO, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Antje Kaars Sijpesteijn

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  1. Antje Kaars Sijpesteijn
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Kaars Sijpesteijn, A. Growth inhibition of bacteria by tributylgermanium acetate and its reversal by blood constituents. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 34, 85–92 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02046418

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