Overview

Antimicrobials: Synthetic and Natural Compounds summarizes the latest research regarding the possibilities of the most important natural antimicrobial compounds derived from various plant sources containing a wide variety of secondary metabolites. With collected contributions from international subject experts, it focuses primarily on natural products as a source of bioactive compounds that may be active against multidrug-resistant pathogens, providing an alternative to established antibiotics in controlling infectious diseases. Covering a wide range of marine, microbial, and plant-origin antimicrobials, the book examines the usefulness of plant products containing antimicrobial molecules against bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. It also reports on unusual sources of antimicrobials such as animal fecal actinomycetes, actinobacteria, and cyanobacteria and discusses synthetic chemical compounds and biogenic nanoparticles. The number of drug-resistant bacteria is increasing, posing a major problem to modern medicine. This book explores an important topic: finding and applying alternative means of pathogenic control and treatment via natural sources. It is an important source of information for microbiologists, biotechnologists, biochemists, pharmacologists, botanists, marine biologists, and others involved in research on natural and synthetic antimicrobial compounds. It is also a useful resource for scholars, scientists, academics, and students in various science disciplines.