Penicillin nontoxic in humans by first performing toxicity tests in animals and then on humans. His subsequent experiments on penicillin's response to heat and pH allowed Fleming to increase the stability of the compound. The one test that modern scientists would find missing from his work was the test of penicillin on an infected animal, the results of which would likely have sparked great interest in penicillin and sped its development by almost a decade. The importance of his work has been recognized by the placement of an International Historic Chemical Landmark at the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum in London on
Side effects of penicillin 1% of people) associated with use of the penicillins include diarrhoea, hypersensitivity, nausea, rash, neurotoxicity, urticaria, and superinfection (including candidiasis). Infrequent adverse effects (0.1–1% of people) include fever, vomiting, erythema, dermatitis, angioedema, seizures (especially in people with epilepsy), and pseudomembranous colitis. When penicillin is used at high doses hypokalemia, metabolic acidosis, and hyperkalemia can occur. Developing hypernatremia after administering high doses of penicillin can be a serious side effect. The side effects of penicillin can be altered by taking other medications at the same time. Taking oral contraceptives along with penicillin may lower the effects of the contraceptive. When probenecid