Natural solution to antibiotic resistance: bacteriophages ‘The Living Drugs’

Abstract

Antibiotics have been a panacea in animal husbandry as well as in human therapy for decades. The huge amount of antibiotics used to induce the growth and protect the health of farm animals has lead to the evolution of bacteria that are resistant to the drug’s effects. Today, many researchers are working with bacteriophages (phages) as an alternative to antibiotics in the control of pathogens for human therapy as well as prevention, biocontrol, and therapy in animal agriculture. Phage therapy and biocontrol have yet to fulfill their promise or potential, largely due to several key obstacles to their performance. Several suggestions are shared in order to point a direction for overcoming common obstacles in applied phage technology. The key to successful use of phages in modern scientific, farm, food processing and clinical applications is to understand the common obstacles as well as best practices and to develop answers that work in harmony with nature.

Phytochemical profile and antimicrobial properties of volatile compounds of <i>Satureja calamintha</i> (L) Scheel from northern Algeria

“…However, most of these pathogenic microorganisms have developed new resistance to several antibiotics. There has been renewed interest in plants and their natural antimicrobial agents as alternatives for reducing the problem of resistance [4]. Among these, essential oils (EOs) have received special attention as natural agents with great potential for food preservation and other pharmacological effects such as antispasmodial, carminative, hepatoprotective, antiviral and anti-cancer activities [5].…”

Inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm after ultraviolet light-emitting diode treatment: a comparative study between ultraviolet C and ultraviolet B

“…22 (6) biofilm, and inactivation efficiency of UV wavelengths. The fact that UVB irradiation (wavelength of 296 nm), which exists in daylight, has such disinfection ability on biofilms reveals new aspects for direct exposure to sunlight and frames some prospect for indoor illumination using UV-transparent windows.…”

“…The GInaFiT tool in this case was Journal of Biomedical Optics 065004-3 June 2017 • Vol. 22 (6) unable to predict the required dose for achieving a 4-log reduction (maximum log reduction achieved experimentally was 1).…”

“…4 Furthermore, biofilms exhibit greater tolerance to antibiotics and antimicrobial stressors than planktonic organisms of the same species. 5 As a consequence, researchers have turned their interest toward alternative disinfection approaches, including bacteriophages, 6 bacteriocins, 7 and light-based treatments. 8 UV irradiation, 9,10 photodynamic therapy, 11,12 blue, 13,14 and near-infrared light 15,16 are all noninvasive methods and have been reported to have the ability to inactivate microorganisms.…”

Bacteriophage Genome Sequencing: A New Alternative to Understand Biochemical Interactions between Prokaryotic Cells and Phages

“…Regarding phage application, preferentially, phages who present lytic cycle of infection could be used as biocontrol tools. In this cycle, bacteriophages inject their genetic material into the cell to produce new viral particles, causing cellular lysis [5,6].…”