Bacteriocins from Lactic Acid Bacteria: A Natural Strategy for Inhibiting Unwanted Bacteria

摘要

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) naturally inhibit the growth of other closely related bacteria by producing antimicrobial peptides called ‘bacteriocins’. Bacteriocins are heat stable, food-safe, and potently inhibit numerous food spoilage as well as pathogenic bacteria. Most importantly, bacteriocins are rapidly degraded by gastric enzymes, and there are no reports on the development of antimicrobial resistance to them by the pathogenic bacteria. These features have attracted the attention of researchers to study bacteriocins for their fundamental properties and possible applications as next-generation antimicrobial agents.