LE NOUVEL ANTIBIOTIQUE A-4696

1345676 The antibiotic A-4696 ELI LILLY & CO 24 Feb 1972 [25 Feb 1971] 8697/72 Heading C2A The invention comprises an antibiotic designated A-4696 whose hydrochloride salt is a white crystalline substance soluble in water and insoluble in common organic solvents, has a m.p. greater than 220‹ C.; has an electromeric titration curve in 66% by weight aqueous dimethylformamide approximating a straight line with a slope of about 0À14 from pH 6À0 to pH 13À0; has the approximate composition 51À33% C; 5À79% H; 5À46% N; 30À96% 0; 6À72% Cl; has an apparent M.W. of 1158 as determined by vapour pressure osmometry; has a specific rotation at 25‹ C. at the sodium D line of -42À3‹ (C=1, H 2 O); has an ultraviolet absorption spectrum in acidic and neutral solutions at 276 mÁ with an extinction coefficient E1% km of 45, and in a basic solution a single absorption maximum at 300 mÁ with an extinction coefficient E1% km of 65, and has an infra-red absorption spectrum as shown in Fig. 1. A method of producing the antibiotic A-4696 comprises cultivating the organic Actinoplenes sp. strain ATCC. 23342, in a liquid culture medium containing assimilable sources of carbon, nitrogen and inorganic salts under submerged aerobic conditions until a substantial amount of antibiotic activity is imparted by the organism to the culture medium. The invention also comprises a pharmaceutical composition which contains antibiotic A-4696 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in conjunction with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient or carrier. Further, a method of treating bacterial infections in warm blooded animals, excluding man, comprises the administration of the antibiotic A-4696, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof or a pharmaceutical composition thereof. Still further a method of producing weight gain in growing poultry comprises feeding the poultry a feed composition containing the antibiotic A-4696 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in conjunction with a carrier.