Application of bacteriocins in food and health care

Bacteriocins are largely known to have antimicrobial activities against pathogenic microorganisms. For this reason, food and therapeutic applications of bacteriocins have gained a growing attention along the years. The biopreservation of food using bacteriocins have been an acceptable choice to reduce the microbial spoilage of food products and the incidence of foodborne disorders. In fermented foods (e.g., cheese), the production of bacteriocins can be accomplished in situ by starter cultures; in non-fermented products (e.g., prepackaged vegetable salads), generally the direct addition of the antimicrobial peptide is performed. Due to the augmentation of antibiotic resistance and their adverse effects, bacteriocins have been applied in health care as a promising alternative to these classical drugs. The use of bacteriocins has been reported for diverse therapeutic purposes, such as vaginal infections therapy, treatment of skin inflammation and acne, therapeutic agent in mastitis, as anti-tumor drug, among others. This chapter focuses the importance of the use of bacteriocins in food preservation and also their potential use in human health.