We are losing the fight against Antibiotic Resistance.
Everyday, we discover more and more bacteria that are resistant to the current antibiotic treatments available today. The “solution” employed by pharmaceutical companies today is to invest more resources into the current antibiotics we have today, making them more and more powerful. Yet, this means that these treatments have increasing tradeoffs as they become more toxic not only to bacterial cells, but to our own human cells.
What can we do differently in the face of this crisis?
One Drug. One Disease.
Bacteriocins are proteins created by bacteria. In nature, bacteriocins have been used by countless different types of bacteria to reduce the competition for vital resources like food and space. Notably, bacteriocins typically only kill a few different species of bacteria related to their producer.
Bacteriocins are narrow-spectrum, only targeting a few species of bacteria instead killing everything.
Pro-Microbe Anti-Microbials
Bacteriocins have been approved by the FDA as a food preservative since 1986. But, there has been growing research on their potential applications other than as a preservative. Recent research has shown their promise in helping to support our gut microbiome through targeted antimicrobial activity and anti-inflammatory potential. Moreover, bacteriocins hold promise in cancer research, agriculture, and veterinary care.
Bacteriocins’ targeted activity can help treat pathogens while still supporting a healthy microbiome, healthy body, and healthy world.