Lucilia sericata medicinal maggots: a new source of antimicrobial compounds

Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) is increasingly being used as a fast and effective treatment of non-healing wounds. It has been demonstrated that the application of sterile larvae to an infected non-healing wound results in the removal of necrotic tissue (debridement), disinfection, rapid elimination of infecting microorganisms and enhancement of the healing process. Many studies have provided the evidence that the antimicrobial action results from both larval ingestion of wound bacteria, which appears to kill the bacteria as they pass through the larval digestive tracts, and by antimicrobial activity of larval components, including salivary gland secretions and faecal waste products. Therefore, identification and characterisation of antibacterial compound(s) and mechanisms involved in maggot therapy represents an interesting area of research. New biologically active molecules from maggots could be therapeutically used and medicinal maggots could be replaced by these active molecules in either their native or recombinant form in future.