Ann. Anim. Sci., Vol. 21, No. 1 (2021) 63–87 DOI: 10.2478/aoas-2020-0098 OVERCOMING BACTERIAL RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS: THE URGENT need – A REVIEW Magdalena Stachelek1#, Magdalena Zalewska1,2#, Ewelina Kawecka-Grochocka3, Tomasz Sakowski1, Emilia Bagnicka1♦ 1Department of Biotechnology and Nutrigenomics, Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Postępu 36A, 05-552 Jastrzębiec, Poland 2Department of Applied Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa 1, 02-096 Warszawa, Poland 3Department of Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warszawa, Poland ♦Corresponding author:
[email protected] # both authors contributed equally to this research Abstract The discovery of antibiotics is considered one of the most crucial breakthroughs in medicine and veterinary science in the 20th century. From the very beginning, this type of drug was used as a ‘miraculous cure’ for every type of infection. In addition to their therapeutic uses, antibiotics were also used for disease prevention and growth promotion in livestock. Though this application was banned in the European Union in 2006, antibiotics are still used in this way in countries all over the world. The unlimited and unregulated use of antibiotics has increased the speed of anti- biotic resistance’s spread in different types of organisms. This phenomenon requires searching for new strategies to deal with hard-to-treat infections. The antimicrobial activity of some plant deriv- atives and animal products has been known since ancient times. At the beginning of this century, even more substances, such as antimicrobial peptides, were considered very promising candidates for becoming new alternatives to commonly used antimicrobials.