Antimicrobial proteins from oyster hemolymph improve the efficacy of conventional antibiotics

The Australian oyster’s semi-purified hemolymph protein extract (HPE) has shown antimicrobial-biofilm inhibitory activity against various strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes. HPE improved the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics by 2 to 32-fold. The study also found that HPE was non-toxic to human lung cells up to 205 μg/mL, demonstrating safety above effective concentrations. This finding provides opportunities for pharmaceutical and aquaculture industry development, highlighting the specificity and high capacity of antimicrobial proteins and peptides.