Department of Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy.
Spinoff XFLIES s.r.l, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2022 May 16;12(1):8084. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-12150-3.
Growing antimicrobial resistance has prompted researchers to identify new natural molecules with antimicrobial potential. In this perspective, attention has been focused on biopolymers that could also be functional in the medical field. Chitin is the second most abundant biopolymer on Earth and with its deacetylated derivative, chitosan, has several applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. Currently, the main source of chitin is the crustacean exoskeleton, but the growing demand for these polymers on the market has led to search for alternative sources. Among these, insects, and in particular the bioconverter Hermetia illucens, is one of the most bred. Chitin can be extracted from larvae, pupal exuviae and dead adults of H. illucens, by applying chemical methods, and converted into chitosan. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy confirmed the identity of the chitosan produced from H. illucens and its structural similarity to commercial polymer. Recently, studies showed that chitosan has intrinsic antimicrobial activity. This is the first research that investigated the antibacterial activity of chitosan produced from the three developmental stages of H. illucens through qualitative and quantitative analysis, agar diffusion tests and microdilution assays, respectively. Our results showed the antimicrobial capacity of chitosan of H. illucens, opening new perspectives for its use in the biological area.
抗菌药物耐药性的不断增长促使研究人员寻找具有抗菌潜力的新型天然分子。在这方面，人们关注的是在医学领域也具有功能性的生物聚合物。几丁质是地球上第二丰富的生物聚合物，其去乙酰化衍生物壳聚糖在生物医学和制药领域有多种应用。目前，几丁质的主要来源是甲壳类动物的外骨骼，但市场对这些聚合物的需求不断增长，导致人们开始寻找替代来源。在这些来源中，昆虫，特别是生物转化昆虫 Hermetia illucens，是其中一种被广泛养殖的生物。可以通过化学方法从 H. illucens 的幼虫、蛹蜕和死亡成虫中提取几丁质，并将其转化为壳聚糖。傅里叶变换红外光谱法证实了从 H. illucens 中提取的壳聚糖的身份及其与商业聚合物的结构相似性。最近的研究表明，壳聚糖具有内在的抗菌活性。这是第一项研究，通过定性和定量分析、琼脂扩散试验和微量稀释试验，分别研究了从 H. illucens 的三个发育阶段提取的壳聚糖的抗菌活性。我们的结果表明，H. illucens 壳聚糖具有抗菌能力，为其在生物领域的应用开辟了新的前景。
