INSECTS’ PEPTIDES – A SOURSE OF PREPARATION WITH ANTIMICROBIAL ACTION

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are ribosomally synthesized natural antibiotics with crucial effect on innate immune systems in all living organisms. These are diverse peptides, differing in their amino acid composition and structure that generally display to rapid killing and have broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activities. They are classifi ed into: peptides with an alpha-helical conformation (cecropins, magainins, etc.); cyclic and open-ended cyclic peptides with pairs of cysteine residues (defensins, protegrin, etc.); peptides with an over-representation of some amino acids (proline rich, histidine rich, glicine rich etc.). Most AMPs display hydrophobic and cationic properties, adopt an amphipathic structure (alpha-helix, beta-hairpin-like beta-sheet, beta-sheet, or alpha-helix/beta-sheet mixed structures) that is believed to be essential for their anti-microbial action. Therefore, AMPs have high potential for therapeutic use in healthcare