Biomedical Applications of Fermenticin HV6b Isolated fromLactobacillus fermentumHV6b MTCC10770

Abstract

Fermenticin HV6b is a class IIa antimicrobial peptide produced byLactobacillus fermentumHV6b MTCC 10770 isolated from human vaginal ecosystem. It shows growth inhibition of a wide range of opportunistic pathogens of humans, for example,Bacteroides,Gardnerella vaginalis,Mobiluncus,Staphylococci,andStreptococci,associated with bacterial vaginosis in humans. It does possess an impressive sperm immobilization and spermicidal activity tested against human sperms which makes it an attractive proposition for formulating antibacterial vaginosis and contraceptive products. Apart from this,in vitrostudies conducted against four different tissue models have indicated its potential to be used as a component of anticancerous drug therapy as it is reported to induce apoptosis in cancerous cells. This information could be integrated in future studies focusing onin vivoassessment of anticancerous activity of lactic acid bacterial toxins or bacteriocins.