A research team led by Professor Chen Haixia from Tianjin University has made a great discovery in the identification and mechanism of action of natural antimicrobial peptides, and published an article entitled Identification and antimicrobial activity evaluation of three peptides from laba garlic and the related mechanism. The article is the latest cover story of Food & Function, a top-level scientific journal issued by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

At present, the abuse of antibiotics is the main cause of drug-resistant bacteria, which seriously endanger people's health, so finding new types of antibiotic substitutes is one of the effective ways to solve drug resistance.

As an important component of the natural defense system of most living organisms against invading pathogens, antimicrobial peptides have direct bactericidal effects and little tendency to trigger drug resistance. They can be used either alone or together with antibiotics to kill pathogens, showing a great potential as biological antibacterial drugs.

Professor Chen Haixia's team has long been focusing on natural pharmaceutical chemistry research. In the published paper, three novel antimicrobial peptides were isolated and identified in Laba garlic (a traditional Chinese food), and their antimicrobial activity and mechanism were then further studied.

The mechanisms of "barrel tunnel model" and "carpet model" were further demonstrated, providing a theoretical basis for the development and application of natural antimicrobial peptide drugs and paving way for new disease treatment methods.

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Foundation.