Antimicrobial Peptides as Potential Therapeutic Agents: A Review

Abstract

The growth of pathogens across the globe is developing at a very fast rate, thus turning into a worldwide health problem. Since, current treatment alternatives have failed to a large extent, novel antibiotics are highly in demand. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have become a significant alternative in this scenario because of their wide-spectrum activity, rapid killing and often cell selectivity. They comprise diverse functional molecules with multifaceted properties, consisting of varied biological activity. Because of the different amino acids and elements in its structure, their action mechanism is specifically altered. Most of the AMPs have been derived from animals, plants and marine sources. They show therapeutic potential, yet, their use is limited because of their short plasma half-life. AMP production can be done at reasonable costs with the help of biotechnological methods. Thus, discovery of an efficient and long-lasting antimicrobial drugs is awaited as soon as these challenges are overcome. The market of antimicrobial peptides is growing at a fast rate. Bioactive peptides from natural sources open up new opportunities to discover lead molecules for management of various ailments. This systematic review centres around the antimicrobial activity, various properties, mechanism and sources of AMPs along with how these properties are exploited for the application of efficient and promising drug agents in pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, in this review information about antimicrobial activity, various properties, mechanism and sources of AMPs along with how these properties are exploited for the application of efficient and promising drug agents in pharmaceutical companies has been discussed.