Bacteriocin and its biomedical application with special reference to Lactobacillus

Bacteriocin produced from lactic acid bacteria exhibits varied modes of action toward many clinically important pathogens. These antimicrobial peptides interact with various membrane proteins thereby inducing conformational changes in the receptor proteins and causing pore formation. They also possess bactericidal activity by inhibiting cell wall synthesis. The present chapter overviews various therapeutical applications of bacteriocins, including antimicrobial and antitumor activities. The chapter also focuses on how the bioengineered and nanomaterial encapsulated bacteriocins exhibit enhanced activity and regulate the sustained release of molecules at specific target sites.