Asian Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Bacteriocins have been effective against various diseases and are used as an alternative to traditional antibiotics which in turn can solve a major problem of drug resistance. This review discusses bacteriocins and its applications in disease treatment and as an alternative to antibiotics. They have been classified as per their mode of action into class I, II, III and class IV of which class IV has been excluded from the classification. Nisin is the commercially available bacteriocin in the market, which has been widely used; therefore, its action and application have been elaborated here. Bacteriocins are beneficial to the host since they are naturally added to the foods. A special emphasis has been focused on its potential as an anti-tumour drug candidate due to their low oral toxicity. We have also discussed the other properties of bacteriocins such as biopreservative, as a carrier molecule, its application in packaging, bioengineering etc.