An Alternative for Antibiotics

International Team of Researchers Investigates Antibacterial Effects of Antimicrobial Peptides. No 073/2020 from May 01, 2020 Scientists at Cornell University, Georgetown University, and Freie Universität Berlin have analyzed and summarized to what extent antimicrobial peptides, such as those found in plants and animals, can be used as an alternative to conventional antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest health problems worldwide. "Antimicrobial peptides protect animals and plants from infections, especially those caused by bacteria, but also fungi, parasites, and viruses," says Jens Rolff, a biologist at Freie Universität. According to Rolff, antimicrobial peptides have properties that make them less sensitive to evolving resistance, for example, unlike antibiotics, they kill bacteria very quickly and the likelihood of mutations is not increased. In their publication, Jens Rolff and his colleagues Brian Lazzaro (Cornell University) and Michael Zasloff (Georgetown University) discuss the evolution of antimicrobial peptides and the possibility of harnessing this knowledge to prevent rapid evolution of drug resistance. In the long term, the findings could lead to the use of antimicrobial peptides against infections in humans.