Advances in antimicrobial peptides for food systems: A review of applications, species-specific targets, and strategies to enhance specificity

Abstract

Background

Microbial contamination poses a serious global health threat and causes substantial food loss and waste. The escalating crisis of antimicrobial resistance demands safer and effective agents. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), a class of peptides with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, are promising alternatives to traditional chemical antimicrobials.

Scope and approach

This review discusses the application of AMPs in food systems, the antimicrobial mechanisms, and approaches to enhance specificity against target pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms. Special emphasis is given to commercial application considerations and the key molecular targets of AMPs for precise elimination of harmful bacteria and fungi.

Main findings and conclusions

Nisin and ε-polylysine have been used as food additives. Novel AMPs are rapidly emerging yet their applications in the food industry still face challenges in biosafety, food matrix compatibility, and large-scale production. These can be addressed through structural optimization, material modification, and synthetic biology. Crucially, beyond classic membrane rupture models, AMPs target specific microbial components due to their unique structures. These targets include lipopolysaccharide, outer membrane/periplasmic proteins, and lipids for Gram-negative bacteria; peptidoglycan, teichoic acid, and lipid II for Gram-positive bacteria; β-1,3-glucan synthase, β-1,6-glucosidase, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and sterols for yeasts; and β-1,3-glucanyltransferase, class III/V chitin synthases, phosphatidic acid, and specific proteins for filamentous fungi. To enhance selective targeting, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, and the combination of AMPs with recognition elements (e.g., antibodies, phage display peptides) offer promising methods. Future progress requires rigorous safety evaluations, target identification, and multi-strategy optimization to fully realize the potential of AMPs as sustainable next-generation food preservatives.