The broad classification of antibiotics divides them into the following two types.

Antibiotics can be classified in diff erent ways.

Antibiosis is a process in which one organism may destroy another to survive. The term antibiotic was first of all introduced by Vuillemin in 1889. ‘Antibiotic is a chemical substance produced by or derived from living cells which are capable, in small concentrations, of inhibiting the life process or even destroying the microorganisms.’