An Overview of the Antimicrobial Activity of Some Microbial Enzymes

Enzymes are substances produced by living organisms that are used to catalyze some biological and biochemical reactions as they either catalyze some types of polysaccharides and proteins or lyse complex materials such as polymers and lipids. Microbial enzymes are defined as the enzymes that can be extracted and purified from bacterial strains such as Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Streptomyces, or fungal strains such as Aspergillus spp., these enzymes have a substantial impact on various uses in medical and pharmaceutical fields. The antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties of these enzymes are extensively researched and recognized as their primary applications in fighting microbial infections and resistance across different fields. Numerous enzymes, including Chitinase, Lipase, and L-Asparaginase, demonstrate broad antimicrobial activity with low MIC values and large inhibition zones, while only chitinase exhibits antiparasitic activity, and Chitosanase exhibits antifungal activity. Also, the antibiofilm activity of microbial enzymes is widely reported among various types of enzymes such as Keratinase, Pectinase, and Cellulase. It was observed that the antiviral activity is still under investigation and limited to L-asparaginase and Lipase only. More studies need to be carried out to discover more biological activities of several microbial enzymes contributing to the upgrading, improvement, and advancement of the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, this review aims to determine and summarize the commonly reported microbial enzymes and their activity as antimicrobials to be used in pharmaceutical and medical applications. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first review that summarizes the most important microbial enzymes that report different antimicrobial activities.