Antimicrobial Peptides Controlling Resistant Bacteria in Animal Production

Abstract

In the last few decades, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been a worldwide concern. The excessive use of antibiotics affects animal and human health. In the last few years, livestock production has used antibiotics as food supplementation. This massive use can be considered a principal factor in the accelerated development of genetic modifications in bacteria. These modifications are responsible for AMR and can be widespread to pathogenic and commensal bacteria. In addition, these antibiotic residues can be dispersed by water and sewer water systems, the contamination of soil and, water and plants, in addition, can be stocked in tissues such as muscle, milk, eggs, fat, and others. These residues can be spread to humans by the consumption of water or contaminated food. In addition, studies have demonstrated that antimicrobial resistance may be developed by vertical and horizontal gene transfer, producing a risk to public health. Hence, the World Health Organization in 2000 forbid the use of antibiotics for feed supplementation in livestock. In this context, to obtain safe food production, one of the potential substitutes for traditional antibiotics is the use of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). In general, AMPs present anti-infective activity, and in some cases immune response. A limited number of AMP-based drugs are now available for use in animals and humans. This use is still not widespread due to a few problems like in-vivo effectiveness, stability, and high cost of production. This review will elucidate the different AMPs applications in animal diets, in an effort to generate safe food and control AMR.

Antimicrobial Drug Resistance in Poultry Production: Current Status and Innovative Strategies for Bacterial Control

“…Consequently, the misuse and overuse of these antimicrobials promoted the establishment of microbial reservoirs carrying AMR determinants in livestock, including poultry. As some of the antimicrobials applied to animals are the same as those administrated to humans, AMR dissemination poses a serious threat to the effective treatment of serious bacterial infections in humans, leading to higher medical costs, prolonged hospital stays and increased mortality [17][18][19].…”

“…At present, it is well established that occupational workers and their families are an entryway for resistant bacteria into the community [9,26]. Alternatively, indirect contact can also lead to infection, and includes the handling and consumption of contaminated food products, such as meat and eggs, in the case of the poultry industry [17,19].…”

Spread and persistence of antimicrobial resistance genes in wastewater from human and animal sources in São Paulo, Brazil

“…Brazil is one of the largest meat producers in the world, however, it is also one of the largest consumers of antibiotics in animal production. Although some alternatives for antibiotic use in livestock are emerging, for example, less stressful management to reduce infections and the use of antimicrobial peptides for growth promotion, Brazilian farmers still believe that antibiotics are essential resources to meet the high standards of foreign markets and to produce cheap food for consumers [11,12]. Regulations on the use of antibiotics in livestock production in Latin America have been advancing toward achieving the standards required by international human and animal health authorities [13]; however, no regulations are applied for wastewater release, and each producer manages waste according to local conditions, whether installing wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) or disposing the waste directly into nature.…”

Regulation of Host Defense Peptide Synthesis by Polyphenols

“…Although synthetic and recombinant HDPs have shown clinical promise [ 5 ] and are also being used in livestock animals [ 6 ], direct administration of HDPs may be problematic due to the fact of poor pharmacokinetics, high production costs, and lack of efficacy in vivo [ 5 ]. Thus, the identification of small-molecule compounds capable of stimulating the synthesis of endogenous HDPs may provide a cost-effective, antibiotic-alternative approach to treat infections [ 7 ].…”