Question

Point out the wrong statement.
A) Penicillin was discovered by A. Fleming
B) Phenacetin is a very important antibiotic.
C) Chloroquine is an antimalarial drug
D) Ether is an anaesthetic

Answer 1

To point out the wrong statement, you should know the following terms: discoverer of penicillin, drug type of phenacetin, drug type of chloroquine, and anaesthetic. Also, phenacetin is a pain-relieving and fever-reducing drug.

Complete answer:
Let us discuss each statement given in the options one by one and then we can easily pick out the wrong statement.
- Penicillin was discovered by A. Fleming.
Penicillin, an antibiotic drug, was discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish researcher in 1928. This drug was accidentally discovered at the time Fleming was experimenting with the influenza virus in the Laboratory of the Inoculation Department at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. Thus, the given statement is correct.
- Phenacetin is a very important antibiotic.
Phenacetic is a pain-relieving and fever-reducing drug. Thus, it is an antipyretic because it helps in reducing fever and an analgesic also, because it helps in reducing pain. Therefore, phenacetin is not an antibiotic drug and hence, the given statement is incorrect.
- Chloroquine is an antimalarial drug.
Chloroquine is a most widely used drug to prevent or treat malaria, a disease caused by the parasites that enter the body through the bite of a mosquito. Thus, chloroquine comes in the category of antimalarial drugs. Antimalarial drugs are a type of antiparasitic drugs. Thus, the given statement is correct.
- Ether is an anaesthetic.
An anaesthetic is a drug which is used to treat anaesthesia. The discovery of ether to treat anaesthesia was in 1846. Although its use has been banned in some developed countries, ether was safely and effectively used as an inhalation anaesthetic for over one hundred years. Still, it is used in some countries as an anaesthetic. Hence, the given statement is correct.
Therefore, only ‘phenacetin is a very important antibiotic’ is an incorrect statement.

Hence, option B is the answer.

Note:
Antibiotics are drugs, which in low concentration inhibit the growth or destroy microorganisms such as bacteria by intervening in their metabolic processes. They are used to treat infections caused by bacteria because of their low toxicity for humans and animals. Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic drug.