Title:Bacteriocins: Recent Advances in its Application as an Antimicrobial
Alternative
Volume: 23
Issue: 8
Author(s): Hadis Fathizadeh, Farzaneh Pakdel, Mahmood Saffari, Davoud Esmaeili, Mansooreh Momen Heravi, Sounkalo Dao, Khudaverdi Ganbarov and Hossein Samadi Kafil*
Affiliation:
- Drug Applied Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Keywords:
Antimicrobial peptides, antibacterial activity, bacteriocins, polypeptides, gastrointestinal tract, gut blood barrier.
Abstract: Due to the emergence and development of antibiotic resistance in the treatment of bacterial
infections, efforts to discover new antimicrobial agents have increased. One of these antimicrobial
agents is a compound produced by a large number of bacteria called bacteriocin. Bacteriocins are small
ribosomal polypeptides that can exert their antibacterial effects against bacteria close to their producer
strain or even non-closely-relatedstrains. Adequate knowledge of the structure and functional
mechanisms of bacteriocins and their spectrum of activity, as well as knowledge of the mechanisms of
possible resistance to these compounds, will lead to further development of their use as an alternative
to antibiotics. Furthermore, most bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) have the ability to
produce bacteriocins, which spread throughout the GIT. Despite antimicrobial studies in vitro, our
knowledge of bacteriocins in the GIT and the migration of these bacteriocins from the epithelial barrier
is low. Hence, in this study, we reviewed general information about bacteriocins, such as classification,
mechanism of action and resistance, emphasizing their presence, stability, and spectrum of activity in
the GIT.