Antimicrobial activity of lysozyme with special relevance to milk

Lysozyme is a hydrolytic enzyme which has been purified from cells, secretions and tissues of virtually all living organisms and viruses. While this protein has been recognized to possess many physiological and functional properties, its high microbicidal activity remains, by far, the main virtue th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African journal of biotechnology 2008-12, Vol.7 (25), p.4856-4867
Main Author: Benkerroum, N
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Lysozyme is a hydrolytic enzyme which has been purified from cells, secretions and tissues of virtually all living organisms and viruses. While this protein has been recognized to possess many physiological and functional properties, its high microbicidal activity remains, by far, the main virtue that explains the high attention of scientists and industrial stakeholders for its practical applications in medicine and food industry. Although the egg-white is the primary source for lysozyme production at industrial scale, other sources such as milk of mammals should not be overlooked, as they may contain lysozyme molecules with specific properties not present in the conventional egg-white lysozyme. This review discusses the antimicrobial activity of lysozyme with special emphasis on milk's lysozyme, and attempts to shed some light on the recent advances elucidating the mechanism of its antimicrobial activity against sensitive microorganisms as well as the means used by some bacteria to resist such an activity.
ISSN:1684-5315
1684-5315