Review Article
    Pharmacognosy Reviews
    Vol. 7
    Issue 13
    2013
    pp. 11-16
    Open Access

    Endophytic bacteria as a source of novel antibiotics: An overview

    Ambrose Christina1,Varghese Christapher1,Subhash J. Bhore2
    1Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, AIMST University, Bedong‑Semeling Road, Semeling 08100, Kedah, MALAYSIA.
    2Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, AIMST University, Bedong‑Semeling Road, Semeling 08100, Kedah, MALAYSIA.
    Correspondence:

    *Subhash J. Bhore

    Department of Biotechnology Faculty of Applied Sciences, AIMST University, Bedong‑Semeling Road, Semeling 08100, Kedah, MALAYSIA.

    subhashbhore@gmail.com

    Copyright:

    2013 Author(s)

    Check for updates
    Published:20/06/2013
    Received: 04/07/2012
    Accepted: 06/05/2013

    Abstract

    World human population is increasing with an alarming rate; and a variety of new types of health issues are popping up. For instance, increase in number of drug‑resistant bacteria is a cause of concern. Research on antibiotics and other microbial natural products is pivotal in the global fight against the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. It is necessary to find new antibiotics to tackle this problem. The use of therapeutic plant species in traditional medicine is as old as mankind; and currently, it is strongly believed that all types of plant species across the plant kingdom do harbour endophytic bacteria (EB). The natural therapeutic compounds produced by EB do have several potential applications in pharmaceutical industry. The EB derived natural products such as Ecomycins, Pseudomycins, Munumbicins and Xiamycins are antibacterial, antimycotic and antiplasmodial. Some of these natural products have been reported to possess even antiviral (including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)) properties. Therefore, to deal with increasing number of drug‑resistant pathogens EB could serve as a potential source of novel antibiotics.

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    Keywords

    Bioprospecting
    ecomycins
    human immunodeficiency virus
    kakadumycins
    medicinal plants
    munumbicins
    natural products
    pseudomycins
    traditional medicine
    xiamycins
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