Plant Protease Inhibitors as Emerging Antimicrobial Peptide Agents: A Comprehensive Review

• Published in: Pharmaceutics Vol. 16; no. 5; p. 582
• Main Authors: Parisi, Mónica G, Ozón, Brenda, Vera González, Sofía M, García-Pardo, Javier, Obregón, Walter David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-05-2024
• Subjects: Amino acids; antibacterial compounds; antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; antifungal agents; antimicrobial activity; Antimicrobial agents; antimicrobial peptides; Bacteria; Cell death; Chemical bonds; Chemical compounds; Cysteine; Cytotoxicity; Drug resistance in microorganisms; Drug therapy; Enzymes; Fungi; Health aspects; Hydrolases; Lipids; Membranes; Metabolites; Methicillin; Molecular weight; Pathogens; Peptides; Physiological aspects; Physiology; plant protease inhibitors; Protease inhibitors; Proteins; R&D; Research & development; antifungal agents; antibacterial compounds; antibiotic resistance; antimicrobial activity; cysteine-rich peptides; antimicrobial peptides; plant protease inhibitors
• ISSN: 1999-4923; 1999-4923
• DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16050582

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important mediator molecules of the innate defense mechanisms in a wide range of living organisms, including bacteria, mammals, and plants. Among them, peptide protease inhibitors (PPIs) from plants play a central role in their defense mechanisms by directly attacking pathogens or by modulating the plant's defense response. The growing prevalence of microbial resistance to currently available antibiotics has intensified the interest concerning these molecules as novel antimicrobial agents. In this scenario, PPIs isolated from a variety of plants have shown potential in inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria, protozoans, and fungal strains, either by interfering with essential biochemical or physiological processes or by altering the permeability of biological membranes of invading organisms. Moreover, these molecules are active inhibitors of a range of proteases, including aspartic, serine, and cysteine types, with some showing particular efficacy as trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors. In this review, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the potential of plant-derived PPIs as novel antimicrobial molecules, highlighting their broad-spectrum antimicrobial efficacy, specificity, and minimal toxicity. These natural compounds exhibit diverse mechanisms of action and often multifunctionality, positioning them as promising molecular scaffolds for developing new therapeutic antibacterial agents.