Bacteriocin from LAB for Medical and Health Applications

Abstract

The emergence of serious issues of multidrug resistance in the past few years forced the consideration of bacteriocins for combating infections. Numerous concerns have been raised against increased bacterial resistance toward effective drugs and become a debated issue all over the world. Alongside, there is an increase in consumer demand for the antimicrobial compounds isolated or derived from natural sources. Production of antimicrobial compounds is considered as a ubiquitous anti-competitor strategy in microbial ecosystem. Research on antimicrobial compounds with a special interest on bacteriocins is opening a door of a new age. Bacteriocins play an immense role in different industries to overcome various unrestrained environmental issues. Many researchers are now focusing on the bacteriocins of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with plenty of applications not only in food industries but also in medical and health applications. Their infrequent and targeted use leads to the reduction in the emergence of drug resistance by microbes. Currently, bacteriocins produced by LAB are extensively studied due to their generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status. Various species of LAB are reported to have therapeutic properties that confer beneficial effects on human and animal health. The public health dilemma of drug resistance can be resolved by the discovery of new antimicrobial compounds having target-specific inhibition especially against multidrug-resistant organisms. Consequently, the pool of effective drugs could be available all the time to control newly emerging drug resistance in bacteria.