Buforin I an alternative to conventional antibiotics: Evaluation of the antimicrobial properties, stability, and safety

Cationic antimicrobial peptides are being developed as a promising class of antimicrobial sub-stances. The introduction of a new antibiotic component requires a comprehensive study of its properties so that it can be relied upon to continue laboratory procedures and clinical trials on laboratory animals or human volunteers. Antimicrobial activity of buforin I was evaluated against 15 of the most important pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. This was followed by assessing anti-biofilm activity, time-dependent inhibitory, thermal stability, plas-ma stability, hemolysis, and cytotoxic activities. The range of obtained MICs was between 4 and 16 μg/mL. The most resistant and most sensitive microbial strains were S. salivarius and C. perfringens, respectively. Buforin I not only inhibited biofilm formation, but also showed a high biofilm radiation activity. Buforin I was stable in human plasma and also at different temperatures including 40, 60, and 80 °C. Although no significant anti-cancer properties were observed for buforin I, the lack of cytotoxicity as well as the lack of hemolytic activity confirm its safety. The high therapeutic index indicated that buforin I has a considerable pharmaceutical potential and can be a reasonable candidate to replace antibiotics or administered in combination with antibiotics to increase the effectiveness as well as reduce the dose of antibiotics.