Antimicrobial Peptides From Frog Skin Secretions: Isolation and Activity Spectrum

Skin secretions of frogs are a rich natural source of cationic antimicrobial peptides, first described in the magainins of Xenopus laevis in 1987. This narrative review summarises published work on the isolation of these peptides and the spectrum of activity they display. It describes the main peptide families, the usual workflow from non-lethal secretion collection to chromatographic purification, mass spectrometric sequencing and synthesis, and the assays used to define activity against bacteria, fungi and the chytrid pathogen. It also reviews mechanisms and selectivity. The review reports no new data. Peptides are potent in vitro, but toxicity, protease instability and inconsistent reporting have limited clinical progress.