Authors: Durbasree Sarkar, Samput Mallick, Sanjay Maitra
Introduction: Anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) are among the first line defense mechanism of a variety of living organisms. The evidence on AMPs has increased considerably during the last two decades, showing they offer more than just antimicrobial activity, and presenting a broad spectrum of physiological functions. Plant AMPs are diverse families of peptides differing in their amino acid structure and composition, displaying broad spectrum antimicrobial activities. AMPs have a high potential for therapeutic use in medical sciences and can be used as alternate to antibiotics, for protection of animals and plants against diseases. Therefore, AMPs are good candidate for their possible beneficial role in public health. The present article reviews the role of plant AMPs in community health setting regarding treatment of cancer, infection control and food safety. Keywords: Antimicrobial peptide, Community health, Host defense peptides.
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