FAIR-CT96-3135 Antimicrobial peptides: studies aimed at application in food and food products

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Biological Conversion : Biotechnology : FAIR Area 3 - Generic Science and Advanced Technologies for Nutritious Foods : Pharmaceuticals/Cosmetics : Protein/Amino Acid

	Proposal No:	FAIR-CT96-3135
	Date Prepared:	January 1998
	Source:	Proposal Abstract

Abstract:
Chemical anti-microbial additives play a major role in the preservation of food, food products and other products such as cosmetics. There is increasing concern that these chemical agent negatively affect human health and well-being. Also, they are cause for environmental contamination. Interestingly, alternative biodegradable, preservatives are provided by nature in the form of protein and peptide anti-microbials. Some of these are well known. The antibiotics released upon fermentation by lactic acid bacteria, have been applied in cheese for many decades. The most prominent antibiotic, nisin, is the only peptide anti-microbial that has been officially approved as food additive. The antibacterial activity of the antibiotics is primarily directed to Gram-positive species, thus limiting their application. However, numerous other antifungal and/or antibacterial peptides, most of which are discovered only recently, may be examined for their potential to broaden the application of human and environmental friendly preservatives in food and food products.

In line with this, the main goal of the present proposal is the study of a selected anti-microbial peptides (and derivatives thereof) in view of their applicability in food and food products. Several objectives have been set to reach this goal. The primary one is the study of structure-function relationships in order to elucidate active parts of the various compounds. In this way analogues, e.g., smaller peptides, peptide constructs or otherwise modified sequences, can be developed with similar or improved activities, but with improved proteolytic stability and better commercial characteristics, such as reduced cost of production.

As imposed by the applications aimed at, the second objective is the assessment of the toxicological effects of the native and modified anti-microbial peptides. As extreme broad-spectrum activity is often accompanied by toxicity to eukaryotic cells, carefully composed cocktails of more selective anti-microbials may prove superior here. The only recently discovered anti-microbial peptides that are part of the extracellular chemical defence system of vertebrates show promising properties with respect to toxicity, which directly results from their origins and site of action. Many of them are effective anti-bacterials that owe their action to their ability to specifically disturb the bacterial cell wall/membrane and/or process by which they are synthesised. Sine the biosynthesis and composition of the animal cell membrane differ, these anti-bacterials may have quite good toxicity characteristics.Third, the preservation characteristics of peptides that show promising properties in microtiter plate bioassays will be studied when applied to real foods. Components of the food matrix are known for their potential to reduce anti-microbial activity by, e.g., complex formation or (proteolytic) degradation. These processes may even result in the generation of toxic products from otherwise non-toxic additives, creating a linkage to the second objective. The studies outlines under the second and third objective are therefore essential to assess the feasibility to efficiently apply anti-microbial peptides in food (products).

Finally, in addition to the above mentioned fundamental tasks, the commercial feasibility of the application of anti-microbial peptides in food and food products will be evaluated. This includes a comparison of alternative methods for large scale production, i.e., expression in plants, fermentation in microorganisms, and solid phase synthesis.

Contacts

Coordinator

• Arie VAN DER BENT / ATO Agrotechnological Research Institute / NETHERLANDS

EC Scientific Officer

• Pieter-Jan BOUWMEISTER / European Commission BELGIUM