The potential of natural antibiotics as a novel antimicrobial strategy: A review of mechanisms and applications

Abstract

Since the discovery of antibiotics, antibiotics have been developed and used in large quantities, and the misuse of antibiotics has caused the problem of bacterial resistance to become more and more prominent, with an increasing number of drug-resistant bacterial species, a weakening of the unit effect of antibiotics, and a constant increase in the dose of antibiotics, which has greatly endangered human health and production and life. Most of the natural antibiotics come from natural components of plants and animals, which have been vigorously developed and applied in recent years due to their various antibacterial mechanisms, good antibacterial effect, not easy to produce drug resistance, and little harm to human body. In this paper, it will summarize some of the antibacterial mechanisms of natural antibiotics, such as antimicrobial peptides, alkaloids and flavonoids, and the mechanism of the above natural antibiotics to reduce drug resistance. Additionally, based on the research on the application of natural antibiotics in recent years, it will put forward new ideas on the intervention of natural antibiotics in the treatment of common infections.