The world is full of plants and animals that have their own defenses, producing various substances in their daily fight against bacteria, fungi, or other agents. These products are alternatives to conventional antimicrobials that have a poor reputation with consumers. Many of these compounds are well known; however, the multiple types of structures together with the variable responses depending of the type of biocontrol needed in a wide range of applications, such as clinical, agricultural, general hygiene, and food, necessitates the continuous search for specific applications and the continuous study of how to use these substances. The present book provides a summary of reviews and original research works that explore the multiple alternatives for the use of these compounds.
Nature is a generous source of compounds with the potential to treat diseases, including infectious diseases, which is of utmost importance for modern medicine as antimicrobial resistances increase. Known sources of natural compounds with valuable antimicrobial activity include medicinal plants, and marine and terrestrial organisms such as fungi and bacteria. Nevertheless, there is still a vast fauna and flora that, once systematically explored, could provide additional antimicrobial leads and drugs. Investigators are welcome to contribute original research and/or review articles in this area, specifically with studies exploiting the mechanism of action and the structure-activity aspects of natural compounds with antimicrobial activity that provide insights into potential ways to overcome antimicrobial resistance.
Since penicillin and salvarsan were discovered, a number of new drugs to combat infectious diseases have been developed, but at the same time, the number of multi-resistant microorganism strains is increasing. Thus, the design of new and effective antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal agents will be a major challenge in the next years. This book reviews the current state-of-the-art in antimicrobial research and discusses new strategies for the design and discovery of novel therapies. Topics covered include the use of genetic engineering, genome mining, manipulation of gene clusters, X-ray and neutron scattering as well as the antimicrobial effects of essential oils, antimicrobial agents of plant origin, beta-lactam antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides, and cell-wall-affecting antifungal antibiotics.
Antimicrobials: Synthetic and Natural Compounds summarizes the latest research regarding the possibilities of the most important natural antimicrobial compounds derived from various plant sources containing a wide variety of secondary metabolites. With collected contributions from international subject experts, it focuses primarily on natural produ
Documenting the latest research in the field of different pathogenic organisms, this book presents the current scenario about promising antimicrobials in the following areas: Part I. Plants as source of antibacterials, Part II. Naturally occurring antifungal natural products, Part III. Antiparasitic natural products, Part IV. Antiviral natural products. Renowned scientists from the globe have been selected as authors to contribute chapters. Use of plants for various ailments is as old as human civilization and continuous efforts are being made to improve medicinal plants or to product their bioactive secondary metabolites in high amounts through various technologies. About 200,000 natural products of plant origin are known and many more are being identified from higher plants and micro-organisms. Some plants based drugs are used since centuries and there is no alternative medicine for many such drugs as cardiac glycosides. Drug discovery from medicinal plants or marine micro-organisms continues to provide an important source of new drug leads. Research on new antibacterials represents a real and timely challenge of this century, particularly for the treatment of infections caused by clinical isolates that show multidrug resistance. The main microorganisms involved in the resistance process have been identified and given the acronym ESKAPE for Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacteriaceae. Multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis including highly drug-resistant strains (XDR-TB) has also emerged as one of the most important clinical challenges of this century. Plants of diverse taxa and marine micro-organisms are rich source of these antimicrobials. An attempt has been made to compile the recent information about natural sources of antibacterials and their sustainable utilization. Increased panic of these pathogens warrants a growing demand for research to undertake the threat of multidrug resistance. The search for new antifungal, antiparasitic and antiviral natural products is far from devoid of interest. According to the WHO report in 2013, malaria still represents some 207 million cases worldwide and more than 3 billion of people are still exposed to this risk. Similarly, about 350 million people are considered at risk of contracting leishmaniasis. The fight against some viruses also requires that the research on natural products continue. For example, even if an antiretroviral with direct action was recently approved in Europe in 2013, its high cost does not allow to offer it to an exposed population in countries where the cost of drugs remains a problem for a large part of the population. These books are useful to researchers and students in microbiology, biotechnology, pharmacology, chemistry and biology as well as medical professionals.
Given novel infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and antibiotic resistance new antimicrobial discovery is an important research area. Considering that nature is a vast source of bioactive molecules with antimicrobial activity, the main aim of this book is to present a comprehensive outlook of current research in the field of natural antimicrobials. It discusses the antimicrobial activity of medicinal plants, beehives, and mushrooms with a global coverage of antimicrobial agents from rich forests of Brazil (Amazon), North-Eastern forests of Peru, Argentina, Colombia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Middle East, Turkey, Croatia, Greece, Germany and Russia. The book covers the results of the in vitro screening of antimicrobial activities of extracts and isolated compounds from natural origins. It is divided into three sections: i) Section I, includes natural antimicrobials from plants; ii) Section II incorporates antimicrobial agents/secondary metabolites from plants, and (iii) Section III focuses on antimicrobials from mushrooms, beehive and delivery systems for different types of antimicrobials. Promising Antimicrobials From Natural Products is immensely useful for post graduate students, researchers in plant science, microbiology, biotechnology, pharmacology, pharma companies and those who are interested in herbal, eco-friendly, cost-effective and sustainable antimicrobials
The demands of producing high quality, safe (pathogen-free) food rely increasingly on natural sources of antimicrobials to inhibit food spoilage organisms and foodborne pathogens and toxins. Discovery and development of new antimicrobials from natural sources for a wide range of application requires that knowledge of traditional sources for food antimicrobials is combined with the latest technologies in identification, characterization and application. This book explores some novel, natural sources of antimicrobials as well as the latest developments in using well-known antimicrobials in food.
The demands of producing high-quality, pathogen-free food rely increasingly on natural sources of antimicrobials to inhibit food spoilage organisms, foodborne pathogens, and toxins. The recent developments and innovations of new antimicrobials from natural sources for a wide range of applications require that knowledge of traditional sources for food antimicrobials is combined with the latest technologies in identification, characterization, and applications. This book explores novel, natural sources of antimicrobials as well as the latest developments in using well-known antimicrobials in food, covering antimicrobials derived from microbial sources, animal-derived products, plants, and value-added products. This book includes the development and use of natural antimicrobials for processed and fresh food products. New and emerging technologies concerning antimicrobials are also discussed. This bookconsiders recent developments and innovations in food technology in combating infectious diseases and explores advances in antimicrobial constituents and their applications in the fight against microbes. In addition, it also provides a variety of photographs, diagrams, and tables to help illustrate the material. The novel strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance are also described, emphasizing collaborative measures of control. Advanced topics in the volume include food processing, food security, preservation, nutritional analysis, quality control, and maintenance as well as good manufacturing practices in the food industries. Students, research scientists, academicians, and policy makers can benefit from Antimicrobials in Food Science and Technology as a resource that addresses microbial biotechnology, food microbiology, fermentation technology, ethnopharmacology, toxicology, microbial/medicinal plant products, and all disciplines related to antimicrobial research. Features of the book: Covers all food antimicrobials, natural and synthetic, with up-to-date research on each type Recent references on every conceivable food antimicrobial Describes recent laws and regulatory guidelines in the selection of appropriate additives for specific food products Includes innovations in natural antimicrobial value-added products Offers current and future applications of emergent antimicrobial technologies and the use of multifactorial food preservation with antimicrobials Details methods to improve antimicrobial properties to have a longer service life in combating infection
This book compiles the latest information in the field of antibacterial discovery, especially with regard to the looming threat of multi-drug resistance. The respective chapters highlight the discovery of new antibacterial and anti-infective compounds derived from microbes, plants, and other natural sources. The potential applications of nanotechnology to the fields of antibacterial discovery and drug delivery are also discussed, and one section of the book is dedicated to the use of computational tools and metagenomics in antibiotic drug discovery. Techniques for efficient drug delivery are also covered. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the progress made in both antibacterial discovery and delivery, making it a valuable resource for academic researchers, as well as those working in the pharmaceutical industry.
This edition is intended to provide better understanding of antibacterial drugs and their mechanism, the role of a few metal drug complexes as antibacterials, cross-checking of a few compounds and biomaterials against drug-resistant bacterial strains as well as a few alternative approaches using medicinal plant based formulations in the control of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The information in this book provides clues for upcoming trends in treating antibiotic resistance problems with which one can explore new approaches in the treatment of common infections with drug-resistant strains.
