Cecropin A

Cecropin A is an antimicrobial peptide active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Some studies have suggested that cecropin A binds to negatively charged membrane lipids and form a packed layer which permeabilize the membranes and help to kill bacteria. It was shown that cecropin A presents a LC50 of 0.9 µM and a LC90 of 1.7 µM against certain E.Coli strains. Besides its well-known antimicrobial properties, studies have demonstrated tumoricidal activity of cecropin A against leukemia, lymphoma, colon carcinoma cell lines and other tumour cell lines. Furthermore, Cecropin A has a fungicidal activity. A study has shown that cecropin A reaches a complete lethality at approximately 25 mM for germinating conidia of Aspergillus spp. and a complete lethality for nongerminated and germinated conidia of Fusarium spp. at 1.5 mM.