Antibiotic resistance and the alternatives to conventional antibiotics: The role of probiotics and microbiota in combating antimicrobial resistance

From the introduction of the first antibiotic to the present day, the emergence of antibiotic resistance has been a difficult problem for medicine. Regardless of the type of antibiotic resistance, the presence of resistant isolates in clinical and even asymptomatic fecal carriers becomes a difficult public health problem. Therefore, the use of new antimicrobial combination therapies or alternative agents with antimicrobial activity that have the least side effects, including plant-, metal-, and nanoparticle-based agents, could be crucial and useful. Recently, the use of probiotics as a hypothetical candidate to combat infectious disease control and antimicrobial resistance has received notable attention. Considering the alteration of the microbiota in fecal carriers and also in patients with resistant bacterial isolates, the use of probiotics could have an appropriate effect on the balance of the microbial population. In this review, we have attempted to discuss the history of antimicrobial resistance and provide an overview of microbiota change and the use of probiotics as new agents with antimicrobial activity associated with the emergence of resistant isolates.

Automated summary

From the introduction of the first antibiotic to the present day, antibiotic resistance has become a challenging problem in medicine. The presence of resistant isolates in clinical and even asymptomatic fecal carriers has become a difficult public health issue. Therefore, the use of new antimicrobial combination therapies or alternative agents with antimicrobial activity, such as plant-, metal-, and nanoparticle-based agents, may be crucial. Recently, probiotics have gained attention as a potential candidate to combat infectious disease control and antimicrobial resistance by restoring the balance of the microbial population.