Chitosan as antimicrobial agent: applications and mode of action.
Chitosan, a hydrophilic biopolymer industrially obtained by N-deacetylation of chitin, can be applied as an antimicrobial agent. The current review of 129 references describes the biological activity of several chitosan derivatives and the modes of action that have been postulated in the literature. It highlights the applications of chitosan as an antimicrobial agent against fungi, bacteria, and viruses and as an elicitor of plant defense mechanisms.
Rabea
Entsar I
EI
Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
Badawy
Mohamed E-T
ME
Stevens
Christian V
CV
Smagghe
Guy
G
Steurbaut
Walter
W
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D002686:Chitin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D048271:Chitosan; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D014780:Viruses / Q000187:drug effects
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D002686:Chitin; D048271:Chitosan