Antimicrobial Peptides, Bacteriocins and Mycocins as Natural Antimicrobials: Applications in Food Safety, Agriculture and Healthcare

The growing concern over antimicrobial resistance and the increasing demand for safer and more sustainable antimicrobial strategies have driven extensive research into peptide-based natural antimicrobials. This review focuses specifically on antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), bacteriocins and mycocins as peptide- or proteinaceous antimicrobial compounds with potential applications as active ingredients, biopreservatives and antimicrobial tools. These compounds exhibit activity against spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms and are increasingly being explored in food safety, agriculture, cosmetics, animal health and human healthcare. AMPs, bacteriocins and mycocins act through diverse and sometimes overlapping mechanisms, including membrane disruption, pore formation, inhibition of cell wall biosynthesis, interference with intracellular targets, induction of oxidative stress and modulation of host or microbial responses. These mechanisms support their potential use in food biopreservation, crop protection, biofungicide and biopesticide development, topical antimicrobial formulations, cosmetic preservation, antibiofilm strategies and adjunctive therapeutic approaches. Recent advances in encapsulation, peptide engineering, recombinant production, nanodelivery and combination strategies with conventional antibiotics, hurdle technologies or other natural antimicrobials have improved the stability, bioavailability and antimicrobial efficacy of these compounds in experimental systems. However, broader translation remains limited by several major challenges. These include proteolytic degradation, reduced stability in complex matrices, context-dependent antimicrobial activity, possible toxicity, resistance development, high production and purification costs, formulation difficulties, scale-up limitations and regulatory constraints. Further validation is also needed regarding safety, microbiome impact, environmental fate and performance under realistic food-preservation, agricultural, cosmetic and clinical conditions. This review summarises and compares the diversity, mechanisms, applications and translational challenges of AMPs, bacteriocins and mycocins across food safety, sustainable agriculture, cosmetics, animal health and healthcare. It also discusses the main challenges that must be addressed before broader translation, including resistance risk, stability, formulation, scale-up, safety assessment and regulatory approval.