Abstract
Lipids exhibit antimicrobial properties and are capable of killing Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, enveloped viruses, yeast, fungi and parasites. The antimicrobial effects of lipids have been studied for more than a century and although most of the early studies focussed on the bactericidal effects of soaps, simple lipids including fatty acids were also shown to kill microbes. Lipids have been found to kill many pathogens that infect mucosa and skin, where they are considered to be potent natural inhibitors of human pathogens. In this chapter the in vitro antimicrobial activities of fatty acids, fatty alcohols and monoglycerides are reviewed, with emphasis on comparison of the antimicrobial effect of fatty acids and their 1-monoglycerides on various groups of microbes. Furthermore, the mechanism behind the microbicidal effect of these lipids will be discussed, as well as their possible role in host defense.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Lipids and Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents |
| Publisher | John Wiley and Sons Inc. |
| Pages | 47-80 |
| Number of pages | 34 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780470741788 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Dec 2010 |
Other keywords
- Activities against Gram-negative bacteria in vitro
- Antibacterial mechanism
- Antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal activities of lipids
- Antifungal activities of fatty acids and monoglycerides
- Antimicrobial lipids, widespread in nature - in plants and animals, acting as potent antiinflammatory and antimicrobial effector molecules
- Effect of glycerides of fatty acids - on Gram-negative bacteria
- Lipids, disrupting cellular membranes - in bacterial cells, Gram-negative and Gram-positive
- Long-chain polyunsaturated arachidonic acid - killing Gram-negative bacteria, Neisseria and Haemophilus spp
- Role of antimicrobial lipids - in host defence against bacteria
- Spectrum of activity of monoglycerides - narrower compared to free fatty acids