Farmacología y potencial biotecnológico de los péptidos y toxinas antibacterianos presentes en los venenos de serpientes

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest public health problems and jeopardizes the ability to treat common infections. This concern has led to the study of new antimicrobial alternatives. Mankind has always developed a fascination for venoms, mainly those secreted by snakes, which have been intensively investigated and studied. Currently, there are standardized procedures for snake´s venom compounds isolation, which are used in pharmacological therapies. Recognizing the pharmacological importance and biotechnological potential of the antibacterial peptides and toxins present in snake venoms, the present work proposed to compile and present updated scientific information in the form of a narrative bibliographic review. First research search for information in the digital bases, 101 scientific articles were obtained, in which inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, reducing the selection number to 52 scientific articles. The same ones that indicate the ophidian antimicrobial peptides with the greatest bactericidal potential to vipericidins, cathelicidins, crotalidicin, defensins and waprin, the same ones that present a catalytic antimicrobial mechanism of action on the bacterial wall, in addition to their antimicrobial activity on gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cereus) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Vibrio cholerae). In addition to these antimicrobial peptides, the great antimicrobial potential of ophidian toxins is mentioned, especially phospholipase A2 and L-amino acid oxidase. Which use an enzymatic mechanism of action to exert their antibacterial action on Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtils) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella) sensitive microorganisms.