Naturally Occurring Antimicrobial Peptides for Enhancing Food Safety and Protecting the Public against Emerging Antibiotic-resistant Pathogens
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Food spoilage is a complex process in which foods become unsafe or undesirable for human consumption.Microbial spoilage causes food deterioration that may lead to slime and/or off-odors and off-flavors.In addition, human pathogens can be transmitted by food vehicles and the consumption of contaminated foods may lead to foodborne illnesses.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that foodborne pathogens caused 9.4 million illnesses, 55,961 hospitalizations and 1,351 deaths annually in the United States.Many food preservation and processing technologies have been developed to minimize the microbiological hazards in foods.Conventional chemical preservatives such as nitrites, and natural antimicrobial agents, such as nisin and essential oils, are used to preserve foods by preventing or retarding the growth of foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms.The increasing use of nisin by food processors has promoted many investigators to search for other natural antimicrobial peptides with improved properties.The widespread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has become a global public health concern.Most of current antibiotics in the market are derived from the chemical scaffolds discovered between mid-1930s and early 1960s.After the "golden era" of discovery, only four new classes of antibiotics were introduced to the market in the past 40 years.The emergence of drug resistant pathogenic strains has increased mortality rate due to infections
Author: En Huang
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2506345906